Well, here's another chapter! Finally hitting double digits! Been kind of slacking lately, I know, but I've been swamped! Hopefully I'll be getting on a regular writing schedule soon.

Thank you everyone for putting up with my sporadic updates. x.x

I own nothing 'cept my imagination.~

Perhaps returning to the Summerset Isles would be a good idea, Diana's pessimistic thoughts whispered in her mind. Silently she agreed, but knew she would never do it. Such was the ways of Diana the Dragonborn.

She now hid beneath a drenched cloth as rain poured from the skies and onto her and the horse drawn cart she rode in. The driver seemed unaffected by it, not even wearing more clothes to keep warm from the frigid rain. That was one thing that always confused Diana about the nords... They were so set on impressing everyone around them that they couldn't show their need for basic things like food, water, love... clothes.

"So, what's so important in Whiterun?" The burly nord asked, wiping rain from his brow. She smiled from under the cloth. "Well, I am visiting a friend with some information on his research. I have been designated his 'errand girl' it would seem," she said clearly. The nord laughed loudly. "Errand girl, eh? You don't seem like the type, love." She chuckled slightly. " And what makes you say that?"

He snapped his reigns against the horse, making it speed up. "Well, no errand girl I've ever met was armed quite as much as you are." Diana paused and examined herself mentally. Yes, she was well armed. Her trusty bow, Astra, was strapped carefully to her back alongside her arrows, and she had a dagger on either sides of her hips. She simply smiled again, wishing the man would simply stop talking. " Well, I can assure you that I am simply a well prepared errand girl and nothing more. Now I believe we are only a few miles from Whiterun, so if it makes you uncomfortable I could walk the rest of the way." The carriage halted to a stop and the bulky nord jumped into the back of the carriage, blade drawn and a grimace on his face. " You can't hide your true identity, dragonborn, " He hissed. " You've pissed off a bunch of people by coming back, and I'm here to make sure they don't have to worry about you."

Diana simply stayed where she sat, keeping her face hidden under the damp cloth. She felt her lips twitch up in a smirk, and deep inside she knew who had set up a contract for her. " So, who sent you? Maven? Brynjolf? The Embassy?" He growled. " Lady Black-Briar sent me for your treachery, and told me to rip you limb from limb, then let the wolves have the rest." The man was menacing, of course, but Diana felt a laugh bubble up in her throat. Of course, the situation was far from funny, but what was funny was the fact that this man so easily gave up his alliances. Such a foolish little pup, she thought. She stood, flashing him a smile from under the damp cloth, then let it slide to to floor of the carriage, never letting her eyes stray from his. He seemed to falter in his stance when she stood, but he hid it well, brandishing his blade. Diana drew her ebony blade from her back, and let it hang by her side. She changed her stance from that of humor to seriousness. "Now then pup," she started, watching as his stance began to fall further at her deadly voice. "I will give you one chance to flee with your life. I am feeling generous and I do not wish to see a foolish pup slaughtered before he can fully learn the hunt." She held out her blade straight in front of her, leveling her gold eyes with his and narrowing them menacingly. " But if you choose to fight, you will die."

The nord flinched slightly at the threat, but stood his ground. "I won't be frightened by some altmer bitch!" He yelled, and made his decision loud and clear as he charged her.

The gap wasn't very large and he took very little time to close it. As he attempted to gore her, she sidestepped and kicked him in the back, his own momentum throwing him off the carriage and into the mud. He took very little time to recover, and when Diana had jumped down from the cart, he was there, charging again. Nords are incapable of tactics it seems, She grumbled inwardly. She parried his charge, but it still managed to rip the cloth on her side. She was going far to easy on this pup, and she quickly remedied that.

As the nord man went in for a downward slice, she thrust her blade forward into his belly, making him gasp in pain and swing his blade in a horizontal slash. She ducked, then kicked him back to the ground. This time she kicked away his blade, and he tried desperately to grab it. She stepped on his wrist, making him yelp, then drove her blade into the mans chest.

He gasped, staring wide eyed at her. In truth, she felt her heart twinge at the look of death on his face. She hated killing, but unfortunately, it was a common thing in this land. As he gasped for air, she pulled the blade out and knelt beside him, watching as he drew his final breaths. She closed her eyes and sent a silent prayer to Talos, asking him to treat the man well in Sovenguard.

She stayed like that until she could no longer hear breath, then stood, wiping away some of the mud. In her home land, it was disrespectful to leave a man or woman whom you have slain in a muddy road, but she knew that he would not enjoy the ceremony of this 'altmer bitch'. She turned from the scene and called the horse to her. He surprisingly listened, trotting up to her happily. He snorted and shook his mane. "Fiery little one, aren't you?" Se joked, stroking the black horses snout. He nuzzled into her touch, as if grateful for it. She smiled. "Well then, Ignos, will you help me complete my journey?" As if in answer the horse nodded, then allowed her to climb on his bare back. She gently kicked his flanks and he started off, running faster than it ever could with the wagon dragging it down.

"Oh! What about this! This looks soooo pretty!"

"It's too expensive..."

Lilly sighed, putting back another necklace, this one which was silver with a sapphire in it. "You know, the point of taking a girl shopping is to let her buy things!" The only response she got was another irritated sigh from the tall, hooded man behind her. Farengar had come into her room this morning saying he was going to go shopping with her. Well, apparently, that only meant whatever was dirt cheap at the time that looked halfway decent. She sighed in frustration then scanned the market further. There were more stalls than normal since the war had ended, or at least that was what Farengar told her. The stalls lined the streets of the common district (Which Lilly could never remember the name of) selling everything that she could possibly want (aside from electronics) and Farengar was refusing to let her buy anything.

She grabbed his hand, which made him jump from his thoughts and look down at her."Okay, I get we're supposed to be preparing for this big, terrifying journey across a treacherous land filled with dragons and monsters, but could you at least let me get one thing I want?" She gave him the best puppy dog look she could manage, and she actually saw him blush a little before he looked away with a scowl. He sighed. "Fine, but one item, and that's it. We need most of our funds for the tri-oof!" His lecture got cut off early by Lilly gripping him in a tight hug. "Finally! Thank you!" She felt a blush rise to her cheeks, hugging him like this, but there were so few things to look forward to in this place that she was ecstatic to at least get one fucking piece of jewelry from the stingy man. When she pulled away, some people were staring with looks of disbelief. She opened her mouth to say something, but then she heard Farengar speak first. "By Talos, have you people never seen affection before?" The people started walking away, some saying a few colorful words under their breaths. Lilly blushed a deeper shade, which she felt stupid for. Dammit, he says affection and now I'm blushing like an idiot! I mean, damn! He could be my father for shits sake! She looked up from her mental scolding with Farengar grabbing her hand. She looked up at him and she felt her heart jump a little at the look of contentment on his face. "Now then, you were picking something out? If you're going to milk me of my septims, you had best do it now..."

Women, Farengar grumbled inwardly.

Really, he has to stop with this weakness to where he feels the need to bend to her every damn whim. When they had finally returned to the castle, he was carrying about two crates of food for the trip and nearly a dozen bags of clothes, jewelry, incense, lotions, bathing products, spell books, history books, cook books, and Talos knows what else.

And is back fucking hurt.

He groaned in pain when he finally sat the load down on his desk, followed by a very content Lilly carrying a small basket filled with salted meats. Farengar slumped in his chair, letting out a pained whine when his arse hit the hard wood, sending shock waves up his spine. He glanced over at Lilly, who was observing him with concerned eyes. "I could have carried that you know. I'm not weak." He chuckled a bit at that. "No, you definitely are not, princess." She glared. "Quit that. Unless you don't want me to help with that pain..." She turned her back and went to walk away, thinking back, Farengar should have just let her walk off.

"And how, might I ask, would you do that?"

She turned back to him and smiled a smile that was somewhere between kind and menacing. "It works better if you're on a bed..." She paused and blushed a deep red, looking away. He felt his own cheeks heat slightly at the comment, but decided to have fun with it. "Oh really? On the bed you say? And here I thought you would enjoy my vulnerability." Her face went a deeper shade, and he silently scolded himself. You are a horrible, lecherous man, Farengar.

But that voice was rather small.

She sighed, frustrated, then glared at him. "Just go in your room and lay on your bed on your stomach." He stood, wincing. "I thought I would be on my back, but whatever fits your fancy." He sang and heard her make a sound behind him that sounded like a groan. "Get your ass in there before I burn it!"

He turned at the doorway to his room, flashing an evil smirk. "So, that's what you're into." And he was rewarded with her flipping her the middle finger. "I know that's what you want my dear, but there are children in these halls."

"Shut up and get on your bed!"

Both of them blushed at the volume of the command, along with the several implications of it, but surprisingly, no guards or maids came running in. He sighed, walking into his room and laying on his bed as she had commanded. She walked in soon after with one of the bottles of honey and lavender lotion she had bought. He felt a bit of excitement shoot through his body. "What is that for?" he asked, truly curious and , admittedly, slightly aroused.

She sighed, attempting the hide her blushing face by focusing on opening the bottle. "It's for your back. It feels better when you use lotion when giving a massage." Yes Farengar, a massage. A MASSAGE, he scolded inwardly. He nodded slightly, resting his head on his arms. A few moments passed by, and still nothing had happened. Finally she sighed and he looked at her. She shifted uncomfortably. "You... Need to take off the the robes...At least the top part." She added the last part hurriedly, staring at the bottle in her hands. He felt his heart in his throat, then tried to calm himself. He sat up, looking directly at her, and undid the belt to his robes. As he worked on this, he saw Lilly watch his hands, and simply stared at her eyes. He finally removed the robes, leaving him in his breeches and boots. Farengar wasn't one to brag, but he knew he was a well built nord man, with more lean muscle than bulky, brutish ones. He had also recently shaved his beard that he had prized for so long, after losing a bet with Diana in a game of cards. So now, he was left with slight stubble on his jaw and chin. But apparently, Lilly had never really seen him without his robe.

And oh, did she blush.

But she didn't turn way. In fact, she examined him. From his slight chest hair down his stomach, stopping at the waist line to his breeches. And, honestly, it drove him mad. Her eyes scanning him like a Sabre cat before devouring it's prey... No, it wasn't quite like that. It was more like a frightened and yet intrigued young cat, examining to try and understand...And enjoy.

He shifted awkwardly under the scrutiny.

She stopped staring, then waved her hand in a gesture towards the bed. "Well, lay down. I need to see your back." Her nodded, continuing to silently scold himself for his dirty mind. He laid down on his stomach, wincing from pain. He got into the same position as before, getting comfortable. Then he hear footsteps coming closer, then stopping. He let a few moments tick by before he asked, "Are you alright?" He heard her sigh again. "Well, I need to...I... Need to... Sit... On your... upper legs..." He heard the nervous hesitation in her voice, and truth be told he himself was feeling very nervous of having the woman of his somewhat secret affections mount him...On his bed...Alone...

Bloody Talos, man, pull yourself together!

He cleared his throat and nodded slightly. There was a bit of hesitation, then he felt her climb over his legs and sit on his...ehem... Upper legs. He shifted a bit, trying to keep his fantasies at bay until he felt something cold shock his warm skin. "Sorry," she said quietly. "The lotion's pretty cold when it goes on, but it'll warm up in a bit." He nodded again, then relaxed a bit as Farengar felt her fingers work in the lotion. After about five minutes, she stopped. He was about to complain, but then felt a strong pressure on his mid-lower back, then a loud pop sounded. He groaned , feeling a surge of pain shoot up his spine, then relief enough to make him sigh in contentment. He heard her speak finally. "Wow, that was tight. You need to relax a bit or it'll hurt more." He nodded, grunting. He felt her hands move up to his mid back. "Okay, i'm gonna do it again. You ready?" He sighed, shifting a little under her weight. "Yes..." He felt her press down again, and another pop sounded with an uncontrolled gasp. She continued this for a while, pressing down on each segment, and most of the time was rewarded with a loud pop and a groan, to which she would apologize profusely for.

After the slow and painful process of having his spine rearranged, Lilly began to work his shoulder and back muscles in a slow, circular pattern. There were definitely times where she hit some bad spots and he tried to remain silent, but the damnable things made him yelp in surprise every time.

When the treatment was over, however, Farengar didn't want to get up. Lilly climbed off of him and he let out a sigh of disappointment. He hear her huff. "Hey, iv'e been working on you for like an hour. Just be sure to drink some water after, or you'll be really sore later." He still didn't move. She sighed and he heard her walk over somewhere, stop, then turn back around. then there was the feeling of fabric hitting his back. "Get dressed, you bum. Diana might be back by now." He sighed. Of course... Travel...Joy...

He sat up and pulled on his robes, straightening them and fixing his hood so it covered his hair. But when he went to fix his hood, he felt it get tugged down again. He turned to see Lilly flashing him a sly smile. "You should keep it down. You look more... Approachable." Then she turned away and left him alone in his bed chambers. He turned and looked at his reflection in the window. He saw his reflection smile as thoughts of her removing other articles of clothing so gently danced into his mind, along with images of what would happen after...

He pulled his hood back up.

He adopted his usual cold and stern face and left the room, but had to keep from laughing suddenly at what he saw. Diana was leaning against the door frame with her arms crossed over her chest and a mischievous smile that was spread across her face. Across from her however, was Lilly, who was blushing horribly and attempting to stammer something out but was failing terribly. Diana shifted her mischievous glare on Farengar. "But by the sound of it, it seems our local wizard enjoyed your 'shopping trip' more." Her smile widened, and he knew that it was a challenge more than anything else.

"Oh yes, I never knew 'shopping' could be quite so much fun," He said with a smirk over in Lilly's direction. If it was possible, her face turned a deeper shade of red as she looked at him in disbelief and anger. "What the hell! Farengar, tell her what we were doing, she won't believe me!" Diana laughed. "Little one, I believe everyone knows what you two were doing." He had to bite back a laugh from bubbling up at Lilly looking from him to Diana in anger. So, being that it was her ( and by Oblivion, it was fun to tease her), he took his chance to step around her and stand close and lean down to her to whisper in her ear. "My dear, it seems you missed a strap," he teased, tugging gently at one of the straps on her robe.

She made a high pitched squeak and jumped away from him, leaving him and Diana in laughter. Her eyes burned with hate. "You both are assholes!" And she turned to storm out of the office. Diana, however, wasn't having any of that, and despite wiping away a few tears from laughing, she grabbed the girl's arm. "Hold up... We actually do need to talk." She said between breaths. Lilly glared at her and stormed back to his chair, plopping herself in it and crossing her arms. "Okay fine. What's new?"

To be honest, Lilly was expecting Diana to come back with an ass-load of information since she went to talk to the leading expert on Falmer. But, of course, nothing. Farengar took his sweet time questioning her, though. It was like he was trying to get blood from a stone. But one thing that did not escape her notice in the slightest was the fact that he was avoiding telling Diana about the dragon messenger that said they had to meet with some entity that wasn't even mentioned in the prophecy.

So, enjoying getting to the point instead of talking for hours on end, she decided to bring it up.

"So, when are we going to tell her about the dragon?" She said loud enough to interrupt another of Farengar's useless questions. Diana looked at her with slight surprise, raising an eyebrow. "Dragon? Farengar, it seems you are keeping me... Eh... out of the hoop?" Lilly was about to correct her, but was interrupted by Farengar shooting her a cold glare and then launching into the explanation about the messenger. Diana didn't say much while he spoke, simply listened, staring off into space. Lilly sat there and looked from Farengar to Diana , then back at the wall behind her, thinking about all of the things that could possibly go wrong. A dragon could easily eat them, since they are very obviously still around. Along with all of the things that could go wrong along with weird disease that only happen in this world where you lose a foot and eventually go crazy and start eating your own arms because you think they're hotdogs or some crazy shit like that. And there are wolves and bears and li-

"We need to go."

Lilly looked up from her thoughts and at Diana, feeling sick with worry. "Yeah, we figured you would say that..." She crossed her arms over her chest and rubbed her arms. Diana looked at her and smiled softly. "You will be well protected, little one. And I do not believe it is wise to anger someone that can control dragons at will." She nodded and looked to Farengar. He was leaning against the tabled with his arms crossed and head down so she couldn't see his eyes. He spoke up after a long moment of silence. "We need to be careful. When we are traveling, one of us needs to be with you at all times. We cannot risk you getting hurt." He stood straight and looked right at her, grey eyes meeting hazel. "Even if we stop in a town, stay by me or Diana. Do not speak to anyone, do not wander away, and do not show your ability to anyone. If anyone asks, we are simply travelers and nothing more."

After Farengar made his rules for travel very clear (Really clear... Honestly the guy could talk for hours), The maids helped them prepare for the long journey. Each of them had small packs with a bedroll, dried food, and wool blankets along with other necessities. Diana and Farengar looked as if they were ready to fight a dragon if the chance came up, But Lilly was pretty sure she seemed terrified, because that was how she felt about the whole thing.

I come from a world of minimum-wage and cars, and now I'm going to be the only thing standing between this worlds destruction or survival, she thought to herself. Probably not the best thought in the world because the feeling of worry in her gut increased. Then she felt a hand on her shoulder, making her jump to face him.

"Sorry," Farengar muttered, looking her over. He looked worried, yet ready for the whole thing, something Lilly wish she could say for herself. "Are you sure about this?" He asked her after a few long moments of silence. She gave him a hard look. He shrugged. "As I said before, no one would blame you if you left. I know you're worried-"

"Stop right there," She said, holding a hand up to him. She gave him a brave look, or at least, she hoped it seemed brave. "I came this far, and I said I was going to finish what i started." She dropped her hand and sighed. "I'm not just gonna leave everyone in this world to die because I'm nervous." His grey eyes seemed to light a bit more with than and he gave her one of his trademark smirks. "Alright then... Shall we?" He stepped to the side of her and made a sweeping gesture toward the large castle doors. She laughed. "Just don't drop dead of a heart attack, old man." She smiled and walked toward the door triumphantly. Suddenly, a wall of flames appeared in front of her, stopping her in her tracks. She looked back to see Farengar smiling behind her, hand raised to control the flames.

"In your dreams, princess."

A/N: Yaaaaaayyyy! Don't kill me for taking forever with this one, but it is my longest chapter yet! x.x I've also been trying to write my other story, The Keeper's Assistant, along with a butt load of psych work. Anywho, i hope you guys loved this chapter as much as I loved writing it!