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The next few days, Morgan simply stayed in her home. She and Lydia had cleaned up the mess (thankfully, her dearly departed husbands' body had been removed by the time she and Lydia had been released from the Temple), and they simply stayed inside the house, only venturing outside for supplies. Morgan looked up at Lydia, who was sleeping upright in her chair near her bed and she smiled a little. Lydia had been watching her every time she ever so much as sat down.
She slowly stood up and placed a blanket around her before lying back in her bed and staring at the ceiling, where she could see Dawnbreaker, the sword she had been given by one of the daedric Princes, glistening brightly. She remembered that it was best against the undead, so with that in mind, she decided she would use that blade whenever she left the town. She would give her daedric sword to Lydia as a token of her appreciation.
With that decided, she thought about Marcus and what he would say if he saw her acting so.
"He would tell me I was being thick" she muttered softly, her lips twitching in a small smile for a moment.
But he would be right, she told herself after a few moments. She had holed herself away from everyone except Lydia, and while she loved being with her, she also knew that it would be best if she left the house more often and tried to get on with her life. It wouldn't be easy, but she thought she could manage. Maybe start adventuring again, clean out some bandit caves. Hell, she might even take up Kodlaks' offer of joining the Companions. He had sought her out the day before and he had talked about his loss of his wife many years ago…and what he had done to try and live his life.
If he can do that, so can I, Morgan told herself.
She smiled as she watched Lydia wake up and blink slowly, looking at the blanket wrapped around her with a bewildered expression.
"You looked like you needed it"
Lydia just chuckled as she sat back in her chair, keeping the blanket around her and smiling slightly.
"Thank you Morgan"
"See, you said my name. That wasn't so hard was it?"
She couldn't help but laugh as a blanket suddenly smacked against her face.
The following morning, she decided to enchant the daedric longsword for Lydia. She insisted that she would be fine as Lydia had tried to ask if she needed company, replying that if she could make her some healing potions, she would be grateful. Lydia had nodded and Morgan had hid a smile as she made her way to Dragonsreach. She still remembered when she trapped Odahviing inside, and his subsequent embarrassment. She still teased him about it every so often.
She nodded to Irileth, who seemed happy to see her up and about, before walking over to the enchanting table, placing the sword gently and fishing out a grand soul gem. She didn't own many of these (because she did have Azuras Star after all) but she wanted this sword to be wonderful for her closest friend.
And after a few hours, she was beaming at the sight of the newly enchanted blade. A fire enchantment and a soul trap enchantment would come in handy for whenever Lydia accompanied her on her travels…they were always seemingly attacked by wolves and they did have a large stack of petty gems to use…they could make some enchanted clothing, armour and weapons for everyone in the town for protection and gratitude for the kindness.
"Ah, you're among the upright"
Morgan had to smile a little at the jarls humour. She had gotten used to it and she needed a laugh right now.
"At least I walk upright when I am drunk" she retorted.
"Pah, we all know what you Bretons are like with drink" Jarl Balgruuf said with a smile, walking over to her.
"True, but we know what we are drinking and can also remember what we drunk the following morning"
She smiled as he lay a hand on her back and gave it a light thump, before looking at the sword that lay before him. He smiled as he lightly ran his hand along the flat edge of the blade, admiring the craftsmanship.
"A beautiful sword…I am sure I have seen you with it before though"
"I used it a lot…but I decided Lydia deserved it after what she's done for me over the last year or so" Morgan said with a smile.
Jarl Balgruuf nodded in agreement.
"She's a true warrior…and a friend I wager?"
Morgan nodded without saying anything.
"Its good to see you again Morgan. You need anything, just ask"
"Thank you My Lord" she said with a grateful smile.
"I made you some potions"
"Thank you Lydia…oh put them there for a moment" Morgan said, pointing to the cupboard. "And close your eyes"
"You aren't going to throw skeever droppings at me, are you?" Lydia said with a grin as she placed six bottles on the cupboard and gave Morgan a mock glare.
"Of course not…I would use dragon dung instead. Close your eyes"
Lydia sighed after rolling her eyes and did as asked. And when she opened them, she saw a red and black longsword hovering in front of her, a purple and green shimmer running through the blade every so often. She gasped before looking at Morgan, whose hands were glowing a soft gold, her magic keeping the blade held aloft.
"Well, grab it, its getting tiring using up my magicka like this" Morgan said.
Lydia did as asked, smiling at the blade before frowning.
"I thought this is your blade?"
"It was…and I want you to have it. No arguments" Morgan said as she walked over and placed a hand on Lydias. "I wanted to thank you for being there for me. And for being a wonderful friend"
Lydia just smiled as she sheathed her new sword and embraced the Dragonborn in a ferocious embrace.
"The same goes to you My Thane"
Morgan sighed with a grin. One day, she would never use that title…she hoped anyway.
"You did as asked. Well done"
"Thank you Lord Harkon"
Lord Harkon smiled as his daughter walked by him, before meeting the lesser vampires gaze again. He hated conversing with the weaker species but sometimes it had to be done. He wanted to get the young Dragonborns attention after she had unwittingly saved his daughter, and the only way he could think of doing so was by killing her weakling partner.
It seemed to have worked, although Whiterun was now being fortified by the blasted Dawnguard. He knew she couldn't be touched now, so he would have to wait and see what happened next. Maybe the mortal would seek him out? She may have overheard his name when she had decimated a cave full of vampires, including two of his kin. He was impressed, and that sickened him a little. Humans should never be respected, not even one that could steal souls of mighty beings like the dragons.
He had found out a lot of information since his daughter had returned. She had told him of how she had thrown her off with a Shout. And of course, it turned out that it was the Dragonborn that all of Skyrim seemed to be talking about. She was popular in most towns and her name carried respect among the mortals…and even a few vampire clans it seemed.
Even now, he could hear a few of his kin talking about her as they feasted on the cattle, ignoring the moans and pleas as they lost a little of their life force with every bite. He wondered what Dragonborn blood tasted like. Then he shook his head. Thoughts like that were for the weak. He preferred hard facts instead of daydreaming.
"I am off to hunt father"
Lord Harkon looked at his daughter as she adjusted her leggings and made sure her hood covered her face before meeting his gaze evenly. She was the only one brave enough to do so, and also the only one he would allow to do so openly. Even though he had plans for his daughter, he still loved her on some level and was pleased she had returned.
"Of course Serana. And make sure you don't leave a mess like this one did" Lord Harkon said, decapitating the Dunmer vampire with a swipe of his wings without even looking.
Serana just nodded and smiled before exiting the front door of Fort Volkihar, her grin widening as she let the door close behind her.
"Oh I wont father" she whispered with a sneer, "I will just make a mess of your plans".
"So, what's the plan then?"
"You stay here and enjoy the festivities while I get the drinks" Lydia replied with a smile.
Morgan raised her eyebrow and said nothing as Lydia stood up and walked away, her blue skirt gliding across the ground with every step. She hadn't expected this. It had been a shock when a little girl asked her if she could help her find her mother the moment she had stepped foot outside her house, the girl tugging on her black skirt with teary eyes. She had instantly started looking for the mother, holding the girls hand. And when they got to the Gildergreen tree…..
Everyone in Whiterun was there. Even the Jarl. There was food and drink on the small tables and the moment the little girl shouted 'she's here', there was such a noise, Morgan thought a dragon had been right behind her. She gave the girl a mock glare as she giggled and ran off. Children were the sneakiest beings around she had mused as she had been surrounded by the people.
It turned out that the Jarl had organised this with the utmost secrecy, and the festivities were for her. She wasn't able to get out of this, so she had modestly said it was nothing (ignoring Farkas' and a few other Companions snorts of amusement while doing so), and the Jarl had just laughed as he passed her a flagon of mead.
And now she was leaning against the wall as she sat on the bench, waiting for Lydia to return with the drinks. She idly ran her hand along the fabric of her dress, thinking it was odd that she wasn't wearing armour for once, when someone sat down beside her. She turned, expecting it to be Lydia. But it turned out to be a woman wearing a red top showing a lot of flesh, black leggings that accentuated her physique, and a hood which obscured her face.
"I'm sorry, who are you?" Morgan asked softly as the woman had started to caress her hand gently.
The woman looked up and Morgan saw the orange eyes under the hood, and the twin canines that could be seen as the woman smiled, her hand now resting on her leg and squeezing so hard, Morgan thought she could feel claws at the tips.
"Hello again Dragonborn"
Morgan didn't reply as she Shouted at her.
"FUS RO DAH!"
It was the Unrelenting Force Shout at its maximum potential. She hadn't used it in a while but seeing the woman flying through the air felt satisfying…until she landed gracefully on a roof and vanished from view. Morgan heard the guards yelling as they surrounded her and the Dawnguard started searching…they had seen how the 'woman' had landed, and they knew what she was.
After a few minutes, they had found no sign of her. And of course, the festivities continued. The Nords never would stop drinking, Morgan mused as Lydia handed her another mead and apologised for not being there with her. Morgan had silenced her with a gentle finger on her lips and smiled, telling her she was fine.
But she wasn't fine. That had been the same vampire she had released a few weeks ago. She was marked, she was sure of it. Morgan shivered slightly in fear, the memories of finding Marcus beginning to take hold for a moment before she pushed them away as the children started asking her for stories. She wouldn't scare the little ones because she was scared too. She picked up the smallest one and smiled at them all.
"How about the story of Azura?" she said, trying to keep the thought of the vampire at bay as she spoke…but she had to wonder where she was now.
Serana smiled a little at the way the Dragonborn started entertaining the mortals and their fledglings. She had to admit, it was rather sweet to see the way they reacted to her story, even though she thought it may be false…why would a Daedric Prince talk to a mortal anyway? But when she pulled out Azuras Star from her pocket, and everyone gasped at the sight, even Serana had to grin at the spectacle.
This woman was amazing. She was Dragonborn but she also seemed to commune with the Daedric Princes as well. Not to mention she had a beautiful figure. She had looked pretty in that dragon scale armour, but wearing that black dress…Serana had to keep herself from throwing herself right onto her and turn her right there.
A soft moan interrupted her thoughts and she looked down at the Dawnguard soldier trapped between her legs, his ribs crushed from her inhuman force as she had squeezed. He had walked right underneath her as he had passed under the stone archway she were was sitting, and she was rather thirsty…so she had captured him by dropping on top of him and crushed his weak body before he could do anything. A paralysis potion tipped down his throat prevented him from retaliating or speaking anything coherent. She gently ran her hand along his cheek, seeing his panicked eyes and softly kissed his lips before speaking softly.
"I am sorry" she said…before tilting his neck back and starting to feed.
