When Ana awoke, she saw a dim, golden light illuminating whatever room she was in. Her ankle felt stiff. Looking down, she noticed some sort of cast around her leg. She sat up and examined the room. Dwemer pipes outlined the walls and ceiling. A fur rug with a pillow sat on the floor next to the bed she was on. A desk cluttered full of things sat snugly in a tiny space across the room from her. The walls and floor were stone, but weren't cold to the touch. Ana rean a finger curiously over the wall. It was smooth, but had a few cracks here and there. Ana continued to look around, noticing a large pack near the desk. Next to that pack was hers.

"Where am I?" Ana asked herself quietly. She wondered who had brought her here and patched her up. She remembered the figure, but believed it was just her imagination. Her thoughts stopped abruptly as light poured into the room before disappearing again. Steps down what sounded like a metal ladder grew louder until a large black figure appeared. Ana felt her heart stop, sudden fear and curiosity gripping her chest. The figure turned around and seemed to jump in surprise upon seeing her awake. In their hands was the staff Ana had lost. Her eyes widened and she opened her mouth, struggling to say something to this strange person.

"You're… awake," the figure said, speaking before Ana. Ana figured it was a man considering the bulky physique and low voice. The armor he wore was ebony. It cast off a dreadful glimmer as the Dwemer lighting hit it. Ana didn't know how to respond. She nodded slowly, her body tense. She guessed she could ask about the staff.

"How… did you get my staff?" she asked slowly, her voice cracking.

"Wha..? Oh! This thing. I went looking for it for you," he explained. He sounded just as tense as she was.

"How did you know I even had one?"

"You were mumbling in your sleep about it. I decided to go find it. I didn't figure it'd look as odd as this, though," he replied. Ana nodded and shifted herself closer to the wall behind her and leaned against it.

"Where am I? How long have I been asleep?" she asked.

"Um... " the figure began, setting the staff down next to her things, "My 'house', I guess. We're underground, and you've been out for three days."

"That would explain the Dwemer objects here. Just how far underground are we...? Couldn't be that far down if I could see light when he came down. And three days?" Ana thought to herself. She felt a little grateful for this person saving her, but didn't know his true intentions. She shook her head and continued on with her next question.

"Who are you?"

"You first. Who are you working with?" the figure said, his body becoming defensive.

"What? Nobody. Are you working with anyone?" she asked.

"Not anymore," the figure said quietly, "Anyway, what is your name?"

"...Ana Highal," she responded. The figure froze. He pulled his helmet off, revealing bright blonde hair and orange-yellow skin. He was an Altmer like her, but with striking blue eyes. His eyes were widened as if in shock.

"Highal is a name I haven't heard in a long while. What is someone like you doing here in Skyrim?" he asked, his voice sounding much clearer now without the thick helmet on his head. Ana narrowed her eyes at him.

"What do you mean 'someone like me?'" she asked harshly.

"W-Well, members of the Highal family are usually… pompous. They wouldn't ever come to a place like Skyrim," he explained. Ana sighed, figuring there'd be a reputation for her family, even here.

"Anyway," Ana continued, "Your turn. Who are you?"

"Valmorren Adhire," he said, sitting down on the floor.

"Adhire…? Wait a second," Ana thought aloud. She looked at Valmorren with fear in her eyes. "Adhires are pa-"

"Part of the Thalmor," he finished with her, "Yes, I know. I guess we're both different from our families."

Ana was speechless. She thought of something else to ask.

"Why did you help me?" she asked.

"I'm not heartless. Who would leave someone to lie there and die such a painful death?" Valmorren asked. His answer quieted the both of them. Ana put all of the information she received together. Adhires and Highals were constantly working together considering her family's close ties to the Thalmor. She remembered as a child, they would travel up to the Thalmor Embassy by Solitude in order for her parents to report information. She frowned as she remembered how the wizards would teach her tricks and be so kind to her. She wondered what went wrong with the dominion after all these years.

"You asked me why I was in Skyrim," Ana began, catching Valmorren's attention. Apparently she wasn't the only one who went to her thoughts.

"What?" he asked.

"You asked why I was here. In Skyrim," she repeated, "Would you like to know why?"

"Of course," Valmorren said, sitting up a bit straighter to show his interest. Ana cleared her throat and thought of how to begin.

"To put it basically, I was framed for murder. My little brother, Molran, was found dead on the twenty-ninth of Evening Star. After a day of investigating, the evidence was pinned on me. My mother and father physically threw me out of the house towards the guards. They made sure to shout out that I was, and I quote, "A disgrace to the Highal family name, and I should have never been kept in the family". My younger sister, and technically apprentice in the art of frost magic, Enorra, was the only one in Cheydinhal trying to help me. I was stripped down to rags and thrown into a prison cell. For what seemed like forever, I was questioned and tortured in… various ways. Eventually, I was taken out of my cell and paraded around my hometown like a trophy," Ana explained. A look of horror was plastered upon Valmorren's face as he tried imagining everything she was telling him.

"What… What else? Was your family there?" he asked.

"Of course! My family is made up of nobles. Even my parents took enjoyment of the 'show'. Poor Enorra, however… She looked so terrified," Ana said, frowning, "I wish I could see her once more in this lifetime…"

Ana ended up trailing off, her eyes glossing over with tears as memories flooded in. Valmorren touched her arm gently. Ana looked down at him, a couple tears rolling down her face.

"What happened next..?" he asked, attempting to get her mind off of her sister.

"Well, after I was paraded around, I was allowed to have a full meal.I learned that the next day I was to be executed. In the night, I had finally unscrewed the bars in my cell to escape. I felt so lucky that I wasn't caught. I ran from my home to Skyrim where I would have one hell of an adventure," she said with a slight smile.

"What happened once you got here?" Valmorren asked.

"I found myself in the middle of a fight between the Imperials and Stormcloaks. I went to one of Stormcloak's dying soldier and decided to avenge him. I have to give it to the Nords for having enough balls to try and take down a whole Empire," Ana continued. Valmorren laughed and waved his hand at her, gesturing that she could go on. "Once the battle was over, the blue men and women took me to their rebellion's leader, Ulfric. He's definitely a racist, power-hungry idiot… but at least he was reasonable enough to give me, an elf-"

"An Altmer, no less," Valmorren interrupted.

"Exactly. He gave an Altmer like me a chance by offering me to join his rebellion. Now, I had gone to Candlehearth Hall to rest for a day and think over his proposition, but I met an odd fellow. His name was Sam. After that night, I woke up all the way in Markarth! Apparently I was so drunk out of my mind, I couldn't remember anything.

"Once I left Markarth, I went to Rorikstead. I had gone there because I was told I could find Sam there. However, the Thalmor eventually arrived. The first time, they surprisingly left without searching through everything and breaking things like usual. The second, however, is how I got this nasty scar on my cheek," Ana went on, pointing towards her cheek.

"I wondered where that came from. Looks like it hurt pretty bad. Any deeper and even restoration magic wouldn't even be able to help. Unless it came from an experienced practitioner. Even so, I doubt you wouldn't find anyone that skilled in Skyrim except for maybe at the College of Winterhold," Valmorren commented. Ana nodded in agreement.

"That's a good point."

"But, how long did you stay in Rorikstead?" Valmorren asked.

"Ah, right. I had stayed there a couple days because my next stop was Whiterun- which is where the first few Thalmor were heading. The man who ran the Inn let me stay there for as long as needed," Ana answered.

"Okay, so you went to Whiterun after Rorikstead. WHat happened then?" Valmorren asked.

"Full of questions, huh?" Ana joked, "Anyway, I had gone to Whiterun and tried looking for a woman named Ysolda. SHe confronted me about some ring I had gotten from her. I told her I would try to get it back to her or pay her somehow, but I highly doubt either of those things would happen," Ana told him.

"Why? How much was the ring?" Valmorren asked.

"Two-thousand septims," she answered. Valmorren's eyes widened.

"Gods, that's a lot."

"Yep. Well, after I talked with her, she told me I should head to Morvunskar, a place teeming with mages. Now, to get a weapon, Mralki, the man who ran the Rorikstead Inn, told me to talk to an Eorlund by Jorrvaskr. He was the one who specially made me the sword in that sheath right there," Ana said, pointing towards the broken and bent sheath, "He directed me to a Kodlak Whitemane, whom allowed me to stay and prepare for Morvunskar for months."

"Okay, okay. Get to the good part now. Did you fight mages in Morvunskar?" Valmorren asked.

"Well, yeah. But get this, there was a portal in one of the rooms crawling with mages. I entered it and found Sam. Turns out, he was a daedric prince this whole time. Sanguine, the daedric prince of mischief," Ana recited as she told Valmorren. His eyes were bulging.

"Woah, woah, woah. Wait. You faced a daedric prince… and lived? Did you sacrifice your freedom or something?" he asked. Ana laughed loudly.

"No, nothing like that. He considered me a friend," Ana told him with a smile, "Anyway, I returned to Windhelm and was thrown out because I had refused Ulfric's proposition. I wanted to get out of that town and somewhere warmer, so I started heading towards Riften. We both know how this story continues," Ana said, gesturing to her leg then the whole room.

"Wow. That's more exciting than my story," Valmorren said.

"Well? Let's hear it. It's your turn anyways," Ana said, letting him explain his side.

"Oh, um… Alright," Valmorren started, "But first, can I get out of this armor?"

Ana rolled her eyes and looked away, covering her eyes. Valmorren thanked her and stood up. Ana could hear the clunking of metal and a drawer opening. After a few more minutes, Valmorren allowed her to uncover her eyes. She looked over to see that he was still fairly tall without the ebony boots bolstering his height. He had broad shoulders and a fairly muscled torso. Wearing all that heavy armor all the time must've done his strength some good. He wore long, crimson colored pants and a dark shirt that only covered up to the base of his wrists. Valmorren sat down once more, running a hand through his hair and taking a deep breath.

"Where to start…?" he mumbled to himself, but loud enough for Ana's ears to catch it. He pat his legs and sat up straight.

"Alright, so as a kid I've always looked up to the Thalmor. Knowing I was going to be one of them one day, I always tried training with the soldiers or learning spells with the wizards. They were always too busy to train a child, but by the time I became a teen, they gladly helped me. Much like my parents thought, I was exceptional in magic. Restoration magic was my strong suit, however, leading to quarrels between me and other wizards," Valmorren began.

"Which is how my ankle is much better than before?" Ana asked.

"Yep. You're welcome, by the way," he joked.

"Thank you," Ana said and laughed, "Anyway, you fought with other wizards and then what?"

"After a few years of training, I was officially one of them. I was stationed up at Solitude as a healer. It was… something, to say the least. The torture the Nords speak of is just the tip of the iceberg when it comes down to it. I was the one who healed the prisoners just to have them be interrogated again," he said, his eyes narrowing.

"What was it like to you?" Ana asked.

"...Horrible. It felt like my healing didn't do much. I felt like a monster doing what I did," Valmorren explained. Ana was quiet.

"At least your prisoners had a healer at all," Ana said, trying to make him feel better. But, it had the opposite effect.

"You see?! You weren't given a healer at all! That's why I don't associate with the Thalmor or my family at all anymore," Valmorren said harshly, "And with you not having a healer, it must've been so painful… especially with all the scars on your legs."

Ana looked down at the spots of scarred skin on her legs. She cringed and nodded.

"It was," she said.

"I'm surprised you don't have nightmares. Most prisoners do," Valmorren said.

"I don't dream at all. I found a way to switch them off while I sleep during my time imprisoned," Ana told him. Valmorren's expression turned into a look of pity.

"I'm… sorry," he said softly.

"It's fine. Now, how did you escape the Thalmor? How'd you end up here?" Ana asked, moving the story along.

"Right. When a former friend of mine and I went back to the Embassy to report to our commander, we found out the two of us were getting promoted. I would have rather stayed a healer instead of a commander. Commanders are the ones who choose how the interrogation goes. I didn't accept the position and spoke out harshly against my commander. We ended up fighting and he threw me out. I had gone to Morthal for awhile before news of a 'rogue Altmer' was hiding out in Morthal. Turns out, it was me and I was wanted for conspiracy against the dominion," Valmorren continued, "I ran like a coward away from Morthal. I hid out for two years until I stumbled upon this hideout. It was abandoned, so I had cleaned it up and made it my new home."

"How'd you get food and armor?" Ana asked.

"I disguised myself. Over the years, I've gotten better at it, but I still feel like I'm being hunted," Valmorren answered. Ana nodded. The two may have different origin stories, but they were both in the same boat. The two sat quietly for a while, processing each other's stories as the time passed.

"Valmorren," Ana began.

"Call me Val," he said with a smile.

"Val," Ana said, looking at him, "Thank you."

"For what?"

"For healing me and being the only Thalmor I've met that has a heart," she told him earnestly. Valmorren looked touched. He grinned at her.

"Of course," he said. Ana smiled back and lied down, relaxing. At least she was here with someone she could trust. It might've been a stretch considering the two just met, but if he really wanted to kill or hurt her, he wouldn't be this hospitable. The hate in his eyes when he spoke about the Thalmor showed how much he despised what he once was. Ana closed her own eyes and fell asleep.