Bonjour! I honestly didn't think I'd be submitting another chapter this week, but hey ho!
I had a little episode of writer's block during the middle of this chapter and ended up writing the majority of it last night and today. Also it's literally 23:59 right now and I had absolutely no desire to thoroughly re-read the Mrydulf and Delphine scene after finishing it five minutes ago so it may be a bit dodgy but I'll clean up anything I see tomorrow/later.

Delphine was pacing restlessly about her basement when Mrydulf arrived at the Sleeping Giant Inn, a little after midnight. Instinctively, her hand jumped straight to her sword as he descended into her secret hideaway, but she relaxed to an extent when she realised who it was. "Couldn't be too careful" She always told herself.
The Nord had noticed her jumpiness and held his arms up in a submissive manner as he reached the basement.
"It's only me, the lowly Dragonborn" He teased with a cheeky grin.
"Hmm..." was her only reply. He may have been Dragonborn but his jokes and casual attitude were grating on the Breton.
"I got your message. I'm assuming this has something to do with gaining access to that blasted Embassy." His long mane of chestnut brown hair swung gently about his person as he walked towards the rather worn table that stood in the middle of the small room. From the opposite side, Delphine nodded.
"It seems your idea of a party was not as far from the truth as I first thought." She admitted grudgingly, folding her arms.
Arching an eyebrow, the Nord smiled incredulously. "Really? Well, I'll have to get organising. Is it to be formal affair or something a little more casual?"
"There he goes again..." She frowned. "If things go according to plan, you'll be the one attending a party, not hosting it."
Faking a sad face, Mrydulf asked "Who is then?"
"The Thalmor ambassador to Skyrim" There was a great deal of malice behind Delphine's words, but then again, who could blame her? The supposed "ambassador" was infamous across Skyrim for being the cold-hearted bitch that oversaw the Thalmor's operations in this part of Tamriel.
"Elenwen, right?"
The Breton nodded again, making no effort to hide how much she loathed the name.
"How do you know there's going to be a party? I doubt you just walked up to the Thalmor and asked if there was going to be a little soirée anytime soon." The Dragonborn queried.
Delphine thumbed at the hilt of her sword. "I have a reliable source on the inside"
"Oh?" He raised an eyebrow again. "Are you really sure they're reliable? I wouldn't put it past anyone associated with those damn elves to be some form of double agent"
"We can trust him. I have no doubt of that." She remarked coolly as she began to pace back and forth once more. "When I find a way to get you an invitation and inside that Embassy, he should be able to get you away from the party in order to find the information we need on those damn dragons."
Noticing the Breton had not mentioned anything about acquiring an invite for herself, Mrydulf commented "You're not up for a bit of party crashing, then?"
She shook her head. "They know me. They don't know you. Yet."
He chuckled. "Well, it will be amusing knowing the bastards won't have any idea what's hit them."
Paying no attention to his comment, she proceeded to explain where they went from here. "I'll need you to lay low in Solitude for a time until my plans have a little more substance. It will be easier having you up there than elsewhere as I'll be able to contact you more swiftly once things fall in to place."
"Roger that, Chief!" The Nord mock saluted her. Delphine didn't react, despite the fact she wanted to knock some sense into him. "I shall be off then, on my perilous mission to lay low in the humble city of Solitude!" Grinning like an adolescent school boy, he made his departure from the basement, leaving the Blade to marvel at the fact that the fate of the entire world rested in the hands of a complete and utter idiot.

"What in the gods names do you think you are doing, girl?"
Elanin froze and her whole body tensed up. That was not a voice she wanted to hear right now. Reluctantly dropping the paper that she'd been examining back onto the pile, the Altmer slowly turned around. First Emissary Elenwen was standing behind the girl, having just returned to her solar from the Interrogation Chamber via her personal entrance underneath the office. Her arms were folded and she was regarding her daughter with a disapproving yet disconcertingly calm air. Elanin felt her mother's eyes boring into her very being as she tried to avoid them, blushing profusely. She'd been caught. There was no way she could worm her way out this.
"Well?"
The woman's cool composure that masked her true infuriation and outrage was terrifying. "Why didn't she just lose her temper and yell at me?"
She glanced to the opposite side of the room which lead out into the foyer. Tentatively, she took a few subtle side steps in that direction. It was a ridiculous escape plan with no chance of success. As if her mother would just allow her to run away!
Noticing what she was feebly trying to do, Elenwen blocked her path, shaking her head.
"You're not going anyway until you tell me exactly what you were doing" There was a dangerous edge to her voice that Elanin knew, all too well, wasn't something to trifle with.
"I..." She tried to speak, but the words just wouldn't form in her mouth.
"Elanin!" The Emissary's voice came out as something between a low growl and a hiss. Her mask was evidently beginning to slip as she lost her patience.
Nervously meeting her harsh stare, Elanin regained some use of her voice. "I don't know..." She murmured softly.
"Don't play games with me, child. I am most definitely not in the mood."
She fidgeted with her hands, wishing for the ground to open up and swallow her whole. "I don't know, because I wasn't sure what exactly I was looking for..." It was the truth, but Elenwen did not seem willing to believe her.
"Start making sense. Now." The ambassador was looking more and more wound up with every second.
Breathing in a long drawn out breath, the younger elf attempted to compose herself. There was no use in trying to put it off any longer. Doing so would only make the consequences worse. "Recently, I've noticed that you and Rulindil have been stressing over something... More so than usual. I could... sense that it was something big and I was curious..." Before giving her mother the chance to snap at her, Elanin quickly added defeatedly "Curiosity killed the cat, I get it"
"Quite" Closing her eyes in annoyance, she shook her head in disbelief once again. "Did you not ever think of asking Rulindil or myself?"
"Asking you?!" Elanin snorted. "You hardly ever tell me anything involving your work, or anything else for that matter. I still haven't gotten over the shock of you speaking rather openly about the damn dragon attack." She was unsure of where she'd even found the confidence or stupidity to retort in such a manner. It was not wise to tread on ice this thin but it was too late now.
"You may be my daughter, Elanin, but that in no way means I must divulge evey detail of my life to you." Elenwen snapped, her eyes flickering in anger.
"I'm not asking for that. It's just..."
Ignoring her, the Emissary continued "What is my business, is my business. Whether I discuss such matters with you or not is my decision. You have no right to then go against that and perform your own intrusive investigations into my affairs behind my back. I did not raise you to be so insolent, child."
Elanin said nothing. She knew she was in the wrong but she couldn't shake off the feeling of being badly done to as she stared at the floor, not daring to look up at her mother.
"But that's not the only thing you've been doing behind my back, is it now? I'm very much aware that you have continued your potion making as well, despite the fact that I forbade you from doing so."
Taken aback, Elanin looked up swiftly, blinking in a disbelieving fashion.
She had always been so careful, ensuring that she only made them during of the dead of night, when she was certain her mother had retired to her quarters, and with as little noise and light as possible. How could she have been discovered and not known about it?
As she opened her mouth to ask, Elenwen cut her off before she was able. "I knew you would not stop simply because I had told you to, and that is yet another example of you going against my word, Elanin. You have absolutely no respect for my authority and I will not tolerate it any longer. I have far more important things to attend to."
Her cheeks flushing with colour again, she tried a second time to ask how she'd possibly been found out. "But... How...?" The words fell pathetically out her stunned mouth and she could have sworn she saw her mother smirk.
"You really have no idea?" There was some amusement to her voice which Elanin did not like one bit. Slowly she shook her head. Had she fallen for some careful lain trap?
"I thought you were more intelligent than this, Elanin. But then again, the fact you allowed yourself to be caught so easily speaks volumes."
"What do you-"
"Solitude, girl! Solitude."
Then it hit her.
"Those guards! They...!"
How could she have been so stupid? Her mother had sent the guards to Solitude with her to not only ensure she did not stray or got into harm's way but also to keep tabs on what she'd been doing. They had obviously informed Elenwen of her daughter's visit to the alchemy store. It seemed Elanin hadn't actually been as careful as she had liked to think.
"I had my suspicions and disappointingly, they turned out to be correct." The smirk had gone and instead the First Emissary pressed her lips together to form a thin line. "As I have already said, you have no respect for my authority, which is more than a little troubling."
Elanin was no longer listening, filtering out the sound of her mother's voice as she tried to process things.
Her mother had been spying on her. Her mother had been spying on her.
"Wait a minute!" She blurted out. This wasn't fair, not by any meaning of the word. "If I have no right to perform "intrusive investigations" into your affairs, how come you have that right over me?"
Elenwen shot her an incredulous stare that clearly asked if she was really going to pursue this. Finding that the younger Altmer was serious about it, she scoffed "I am your mother, child. I'm supposed to be involved in your affairs."
"Involved, perhaps. But spying on them? I don't think that's quite what's written in the parenting handibook." She countered angrily, feeling her hands balling up into fists.
The ambassador's eyes darkened. "I have cared for you, single-handedly and to the best of my abilities, since the day you were born, so don't you dare insinuate that I am a bad parent!"
"Well, I wouldn't exactly call you a good one" Elanin muttered bitterly without really thinking of the consequences.
"Go to your room"
"Huh?"
"I said, go to your room!" Elenwen yelled, losing it now. Her jaw and fists were clenched, her breathing was heavy and she shook as if she was holding back a powerful urge to hit something. Elanin guessed it was namely her, but she didn't hang around to find out. Exiting the office, she made straight for her bedroom as per her mother's furious outburst for she did not want to provoke her further.

Once in the seclusion of room, she flopped onto her bed in an unladylike manner. She was not tired. Her mind was reeling far too much for sleep to be an option. Instead she stared silently up at the ceiling, thinking to herself.
Did she really think her mother was a bad parent? No, not really. She wasn't a naturally affectionate or maternal parent but not "bad". Despite the constant arguments and provocations of late, Elanin did love her, as horribly clichéd as it sounded. But since becoming old enough to starting making decisions and opinions for herself, her relationship with her mother had become... strained, for want of a better word.
Elenwen was the sort of person who wanted to be the one with complete control and she'd had that for many years while Elanin had been growing up. Now though, she was slowly losing that control and was doing anything and everything within her power to claw it back, but no matter how hard she tried she was unable to gain any substantial purchase. Elanin wouldn't let her. And that caused a lot of tension and animosity on either side.
Elenwen was the only family she had and as far as she knew, it was likewise for her mother too. She didn't know for certain but she believed her mother had become estranged from her own parents since leaving Alinor. Elanin was unaware of any aunts or uncles if she had any and knew nothing of her own father.
You would have thought that that would bring them closer together, not the opposite. Elanin wanted to be closer with her mother but it was difficult. She constantly tried to distance herself emotionally from everyone around her and that included Elanin. She assumed it was just something that came with her position in the Thalmor but sometimes she wondered if there was another reason why Elenwen put up a barrier between them.
She sighed and began to think back to what had happened earlier in the office.
What she'd done and then later said to her mother had been out of order. Guilt laced her thoughts, scolding her for her behaviour, and regret hung over her like an oppressive cloud. She really was a spoilt brat like her mother said.
Leaving her room she headed downstairs and stopped just outside of the office. Elenwen was at her desk, after apparently cleaning up the mess Elanin had made. She did not look up nor acknowledge her daughter's presence, but she was most certainly aware of it as she continued to scribble furiously on the parchment she was writing on.
"I..." Elanin twisted her fingers together anxiously as she tried to find the words to apologise. "I... was wrong. I shouldn't have gone behind your back and I shouldn't have said what I said..." She noticed that the quill in the Emissary's hand had paused as she spoke. "I guess what I'm trying to say is... I'm sorry..."
There was a moment's pause. It did not seem as if she was going to get a reply. Looking down at the floor before back to her mother, she mumbled "I'll just be going..." Turning around she began to make her way to the stairs.
"Elanin"
Startled somewhat, she found herself slowly walking back to the office, a horrible pang of anxiety present in her stomach.
Elenwen had carefully set her quill down and was now leaning back slightly in her chair, her fingers laced together on her lap as she looked straight ahead at her daughter.
"Yes?" She replied meekly.
"Apology accepted" There was still a certain amount of disapproval in her tone, but it was a step in the right direction.
Nodding timidly, she was about to walk out again before her mother continued.
"I apologise myself for being so distant lately. Things have been getting on top of me and perhaps I should be more open than I have been."
Elanin was shocked to say the least. It was almost out of character for her mother to admit that she was at fault. She usually prided herself in upholding a seemingly flawless image. This, however, was step back for her. One Elanin believed she needed.
Unsure of how she should respond, she simply nodded again before excusing herself from the office. Elenwen made no objections this time as she left. It appeared that the ambassador was silently mulling over what she'd said.
It seemed progress had been made by both sides, but Elanin had her doubts as to whether it would last or not.

Elenwen's a complete and utter bitch, along with the rest of the Thalmor, but I can't help but like her. *shot*

Anyway, if anyone reading this also reads my other ongoing fanfictions, I apologise for neglecting them but I have so many ideas and stuffs for this one right now! The next chapter or two are going to be very interesting (at least to me anyway orz) and I really want to get them written and I feel very uninspired towards my other two fics!
Sorry Dx
But! They are most definitely not abandoned! *pinky swears* ;)