Three days passed. The Dark Brotherhood had been discovered to have been the hand of the machine that had murdered the Emperor, but not the brain or the mouth. The latter had been a man named Amaund Motierre; he had paid the Dark Brotherhood to kill the Emperor. The Brotherhood had not asked why the man had wanted Mede dead, and so none of them had known. They were still executed after their capture; Sofie's unit had been present, along with four Penitus Oculatus soldiers, as they entered the sanctuary from its "secret" entrance on the outskirts of Dawnstar. They had killed all but two of the members within; a child-like vampire called Babette and an uncooperative Redguard named Nazir, whom they captured. Even after days of relentless torture, neither had broken, and were then sentenced to death. They had been publically beheaded in the Imperial City. Guards in the city of Whiterun had found Amaund Motierre's lifeless body laying cold in the Bannered Mare, a single arrow through his left eye.

The brain of the operation had not been found. Many suspected the Thalmor, naturally; their patrols had been spotted throughout Cyrodiil, and there had even been evidence of recent departure from the Thalmor Embassy in Skyrim. When Ulfric's soldiers ransacked it before burning it to the ground, they had found one thing: An Imperial in Stormcloak armor strung up by his entrails in one of the holding cells. There was a note fixed to his chest by a dagger, which simply read "You're all the same." It was enough to put anyone on edge, and that was certainly the case for every single person living in Skyrim.

Amaya had received multiple letters from Esbern. He had requested to speak to her, citing that he had "valuable information" that could not be relayed via written correspondence. She had not been to Skyhaven Temple since she had refused to kill Paarthurnax. Delphine had scoffed at her, calling her foolish and misguided. Amaya remembered how her fist had ached for a day, after she had punched Delphine square in the nose. She remembered how red the blood that sprang from it was. She had known it was not the most tactful move on her part, but it had certainly been the most relieving. She had left the Blades to fend for themselves since then. When the first letter from Esbern arrived, Amaya had been hesitant to respond. When, on the third day of waiting for new developments, another letter arrived Amaya was more interested and determined than ever.

Ulfric had been quite adamant about Amaya staying in Solitude since the night of the Emperor's assassination. He had assigned extra guards to both her house and her chambers at the palace. He had insisted on sleeping in the same bed as her, propriety and discretion be damned. When she came to him, asking to at least send someone to Skyhaven Temple to see how credible Esbern's information was, Ulfric bristled almost immediately. Sitting in Ulfric's chambers, at the table, the room was dark with the blackness of night. A single candle lit their faces as they spoke.

"Amaya, from the sound of it, that man knows nothing valuable about anything at all. He hid in Riften's sewers for how many years? I will not waste resources chasing a rumor," he said, sounding quite sure of himself.

"What, pray tell, are you doing with your resources? You are pursuing zero leads at this moment, so far as I know," Amaya retorted.

"My forces are stationed at our borders, in our major cities, and in our towns. We have ferreted out the Dark Brotherhood, for the Gods' sake. Don't be ridiculous. I am doing everything I can to keep this land safe."

"It is not enough. Somehow the Thalmor managed to slip both into and out of their embassy here, in Skyrim, without detection. If someone has information, even if it turns out to be less than helpful, at least we will have done everything we can."

"I said no. That is my final answer."

"You cannot stop me, Ulfric. I think we both know that," Amaya blurted. Ulfric sighed, rubbing his temples, his head in his hands. He said nothing. When his head rose, he stretched out a hand, and Amaya took it. He kissed her fingers lightly, and then pressed her palm to his cheek. He held her there for a moment before he stood.

"I know that I cannot stop the Dragonborn from escaping the Blue Palace. Just know that I do not condone this. I wish you would stay here."

"So you can keep an eye on me?"

"So I know you are safe."

"I will be safe. I promise I will."

"Do not think that I am allowing you to go. I am not removing the extra guards. I am not leaving you alone at night. I will still be watching, hoping that we can stop you, somehow. I just know in my heart that we will all fail."

"You never know."

"You had better come back to me, Amaya. I want you to come back with your shield, not under it. Do you understand me?"

"Of course I'm coming back. I'll come back with a plan to keep Skyrim safe."

"So long as you come back. That is all I am asking. We could likely figure out a way to keep safe while you stayed here."

"Do that while I'm gone, then. Try to sleep. Try to eat. Don't get yourself killed while I'm gone, either. Listen to Greta and Thorald. They wouldn't steer you wrong."

"You sound like you are about to walk out the palace doors now," Ulfric said, wrapping an arm around his beloved. Amaya half smiled, leaning her mouth into the base of his throat.

"Not without saying goodbye," she whispered, her lips pressing softly against his skin. Goosebumps rose on his arms as her hands made their way down his chest and stomach. Her mouth followed their trail, and his hands found her hair as she descended. She pried his belt loose from its fasteners, taking him into her mouth. She worked back and forth with mouth and hands, and Ulfric moaned lowly as she went.

They were soon in Ulfric's bed, entangled in each other. The feeling of skin-on-skin drove them mad; their kisses were emblazoned, passionate, needing. When they needed more, it came. Ulfric found her wanting, and gave in to her wish. Their moans were a swan song to Mara herself, an ode to passionate and unending love. This was the love that had founded all love, the eternal parentage of true and immeasurable devotion. They were entirely and completely alone in the world during these moments, and stayed that way until satisfaction found them both. As they collapsed, panting, into each other's arms, they found the very last thing either had expected to find from the other in the years before. They found the completion of themselves when next to each other, two separate halves of one refined whole. They knew, in that moment, that neither could truly exist without the other. So it was that, when Ulfric reached for the pitcher of water next to him on the side table, away cringed internally. He fell deeply asleep shortly after taking his cup's worth, and she kissed him gently on the forehead, and whispered, "I will come back to you."

She quickly pulled her travelling clothes out from under the bed, where she had hidden them earlier in the day. She knew there would be at least two guards directly outside Ulfric's door, but she also knew that they had been commanded to respond and search for anything that seemed suspicious. Amaya had also overheard Ulfric relaying a specific message to his Captain of the Guard; "If you hear any noise, be it footsteps, a door creak, or even a cup drop, you investigate. No one gets in, no one gets out." She knew this, of course, would make things quite a bit more difficult. Luckily, she was also particularly skilled in evading things she did not want to face. She had a plan.

"Zul – Mey – Gut!" she said, the Thu'um taking her voice to the stairs, travelling down. She heard the guards jump, shift, and scurry quickly away to investigate. As soon as they did, she opened the door, stepping silently into the shadows. She had enchanted her travelling clothes to be as silent as possible, and the guards were distracted.

"Laas – Yah – Nir," she whispered, having waited long enough to regain her voice. Her vision glowed blue. It revealed three more guards standing close enough for discomfort to her, and two more guarded the front door. Gods, I hope this works, she thought as she continued to creep along silently. She was quickly approaching the least stable part of her plan, and her anxieties were mounting.

She had made her way to the very edge of the stairs that lead to the palace doors, and she could feel the Thu'um she herself had crafted stuck in her throat. If it did not work, she would likely not have another chance to escape. She sucked in her breath, readying herself before saying the Words of Power:

"Feim – Rii – Frul."

And she walked down the stairs. She was hesitant at first, but when she stood fully, no one looked her way. Her descent down the steps was silent, despite her stride; she all but ran as she went. When she reached the front doors, she placed both hands on one, and pushed her way through it. The door did not even creak as she stepped through, into the front garden. She had done it. She was out.

Her trip out of Solitude itself went much the same. She made it out of the front gates by using the same Shout, and she was already riding down the road in a wagon destined for Markarth. She was to meet Esbern himself at the stables, where she would then travel to Sky Haven Temple with him. They would speak along the way, naturally, but Esbern had assured her that he had access to vital information that she must see to believe. As she sat in the back of the cart, her cloak hood up, dozing off, she thought of her final moments with her beloved before her departure. Laying in his arms as he fell off into sleep had been so peaceful, and his bed had been so comfortable and warm. She knew he would be livid that she had put a sleeping potion in his water, but she knew that what she was doing was for the best. Ulfric's resources had simply been stretched too thin. This had been her only choice, her only chance to help her people.

In Solitude, dawn came slowly and groggily. Ulfric knew that something was wrong as soon as his eyes opened. He felt hazy, much as he did after taking the potions Amaya mixed for him. Damn, he thought, sitting up. There was only a small slip of paper next to him, laying where Amaya should have been. He picked it up. On the front, all it said was, "Feim – Rii – Frul. Fade – Essence – Temporary. Test One: Nearly fell through the wall. Very loud. What happens if I whisper it? Test Two: Better. Noticed slight motion sickness after wear out. Perhaps I should practice more. Test Three: This will have to do." The handwriting matched Amaya's, and Ulfric was incredulous. He flipped the paper, hoping to find more information. All he read was "I am gone. Do not look for me. I am sorry." A few lines of nothing lead to the final line, very low on the page.

"I love you. I'm coming back, with my shield."

Ulfric readied himself as fast as he could. When his doors flung open, the guards knew they were going to have to answer for Amaya's disappearance. Ulfric looked absolutely furious. When he turned to them, they had expected biting criticism and swift punishment. What they received, however, was ultimately the opposite. Ulfric asked them if they had heard or seen anything. They spoke of how they had heard a noise that had sounded much like Enchantress Amaya in the very early morning hours. When they had investigated, they had not found anything. When Ulfric had left his room in a furor, they knew that it was likely that they should have found something. He issued an order to search the town as question locals, but in his heart, he knew she was gone. His anger, in time, became heartbreak. He did not sleep well the following night, and when he did, he dreamt of his lover walking silently through the woods.

Something was following her.