Thank you so much for the reviews and alerts everyone :D I do have some good news as well :)
I am off on holiday now, so I will have more time to type...so fingers crossed, more updates within the next 10 days or so :D
"I hate this place."
Serana grinned at Babette's statement and she had to agree with her when she gave Winterhold another quick sweep with her eyes.
Half the buildings were still missing since the Great Collapse, and even though the town must have received some form of income, there hadn't been a single new building placed, nor a single fence that used to be between the buildings themselves.
"Sorry, I REALLY hate this place. Can we get this over with?"
"Sometimes I forget that you are a three hundred year old vampire," Serana remarked.
"Fuck you," Babette said sweetly.
Both vampires chuckled as they adjusted the hoods over their eyes and began to walk down the path into the small village itself. They were thankful that the snow and wind were hiding their eyes from direct sight, due to the presence of Stormcloak soldiers milling around outside the tavern and the Jarl's residence.
Serana kept her hand lightly rested on the dagger strapped to her thigh as she walked, constantly looking left and right in case one of the soldiers suddenly spotted them for not being entirely alive. Serana knew this was unlikely at best, she knew that most of these soldiers were drunk or stupid enough to allow two vampires in their midst and not say anything.
"Pigs. Look at them. There is one pissing on the side of the tavern for Sithis' sake. I hope it freezes off." Serana snickered as she nodded in agreement, putting an arm round Babette's shoulders like a mother would do. The illusion would fool any onlookers into thinking it was a mother escorting her daughter through the weather.
"Yes, but it could have been worse."
"How so?" Babette asked curiously.
"He could have been taking a sh…"
"Are you alright missy?"
"Oh fuck," Serana sighed as she gave a bright smile and looked at the drunk Stormcloak that was leaning against the stone pillars that marked the path to the College of Winterhold.
"Fine, thank you. I am just taking my daughter to the College."
"Hmph….magic at a young age eh? Feel sorry for ya' miss, magic doesn't do any good. I mean, look at what happened to this place."
Babette managed to hide her snort as she managed a small smile.
"Magic is only bad if someone uses it wrong. I need better control of my magic otherwise my mother might get into trouble….is that wrong?"
Serana smiled a little wider as she noted the guard's addled mind trying to work it's way through Babette's words. She smirked even more when the guard belched and waved them off before slumping onto the ground and began to doze within seconds.
"Hope he freezes there all night."
Serana agreed silently as they passed the guard and began walking along the cracked bridge that led to the College.
"Ah, it is good to see you again. J'Zargo has wondered what you have been up to."
"The usual," Serana said with a wink as she removed her hood and looked at the Khajiit in the eye. "Drinking people dry, hacking apart draugr and of course using Stormcloaks as a way to improve my destruction spells."
Babette giggled when J'Zargo went a paler shade of white that was visible even through his fur, and chuckled profusely when he noticed her fangs peeking out under her lips.
"J'Zargo will get the Arch Mage for you…yes…"
"Thank you!" Serana called after the rapidly fleeing student before nudging Babette on the shoulder. "You are a little terror, you know that?"
"Thank you."
Serana shook her head in amusement before sitting down on the small bench, Babette doing the same beside her.
"It's quiet. Wonder where the students are."
"It's the early morning and most of the students don't get up this early," a voice said from the open doorway.
The two vampires looked over to see Savos Aren standing there with a warm smile on his face. He crossed the room and gently took Serana's hand and gave the fingertips a gentlemanly kiss.
"Delighted too see you again Serana. It has been a few months since you last visited."
"Indeed, it's a busy life for a vampire," Serana winked back at him.
Savos chuckled as he nodded to Babette, who grinned at him mischievously.
"I see you came prepared."
"If you think Morgan is bad, think again," Serana joked, ignoring the dig in her ribs from an amused Babette.
"You had no trouble getting here I trust?" Savos said as he motioned to them to follow him, passing a still-pale J'Zargo as they went.
"None. Although it was a close call. Winterhold is full of vermin these days."
Savos grunted in agreement as they walked into his chambers and motioned for them to take a seat. He sat down opposite them and passed over two small vials of blood before pouring a goblet of wine for himself.
"It's mine, so I doubt it would be as tasty as you might like," he joked.
"I don't know about that," Babette said as she sipped from the vial and licked her lips once. "Like wine, blood tastes a little better when it is mature….although that might be just me."
"Morgan's tasted like molten fire….never have anything better than that," Serana laughed as she raised her vial to Savos.
"Speaking of her, how is she? We have all heard about the bounty placed on her head, but no-one seems to have heard from her in months."
"She's fine. A little pissed off, but fine," Serana assured him.
There was a moment of comfortable silence before Savos spoke up once more.
"So, what brings you here. I have a feeling that it is not just a social call."
Serana gently placed the now empty vial on the table beside her and nodded.
"Babette and I are doing a favour for someone. You see, Morgan's mother has gone missing and we think the Stormcloaks are holding her. We ail to get her back, but to do that, we need some help."
"I see. I didn't even know Morgan's mother was in Skyrim, truth be told. But you still haven't said what you wanted."
"We need Brelyna's help," Serana said simply.
There was another pause, and the two vampires could see that Savos was thinking hard, his forehead furrowed in concentration as he pondered her words.
"I see."
"So, where is she?" Babette pressed when Savos said nothing else.
"I do not see her often anymore. She left the College a few weeks back after a student insulted her…vampiric nature. She threw the boy into a wall and ran off. No-one has seen her since. And to complicate things, Onmund has gone after her and no-one has heard or seen him since either."
"Fuck," Serana breathed out softly, looking at the fabric of her leggings.
"No-one has a clue where they went? They said nothing?"
"Brelyna muttered something about going to one of her friends, but I assumed all her closest friends were here," Savos replied.
"I know where she has gone," Serana said as she looked up.
"Where?" Babette and Savos asked at the same time.
"Whiterun. That is where Morgan used to spend most of her time, and I doubt Brelyna knew that she moved out of the town and built her own home since. That is the best place to start looking. Maybe Lydia might have seen her in the town."
"That sounds right," Babette agreed.
"It's a long journey and the sun will be up in a few hours. I know you are resistant to sunlight Serana, but what of your companion?"
"He has a point. I am not a Volkihar like you," Babette muttered.
"We will have to wait I guess. If I could summon Odahviing, he might have been able to get us there within a few hours, but…" Serana trailed off.
"Looks like we are waiting," Babette finished off.
"You can have the quarters that Ancano used to occupy," Savos said, "No student is allowed there so you will be free to rest and wait until dusk."
"Thank you Arch Mage," Serana said as she stood up.
"Think nothing of it my dear. I am sorry I could be of no further assistance."
"You gave us a starting point," Babette said softly.
Serana nodded and walked off to the staircase, Babette trailing right beside her. Savos smiled and leaned back in his seat, looking at the red wine in his goblet and wondering why J'Zargo never went with his two friends.
"Wonder why J'Zargo never went after the others," Serana said quietly as she made sure the drapes covered the windows completely.
"Good point. Maybe we should ask him."
"Later. He's scares shitless right now, we wouldn't get much out of him, and I hate using my illusion spells to force someone to do whatever I ask of them."
"Bet it's fun when it needs to be," Babette sniggered.
Serana snorted as she bolted the locks on the door before walking over to her bed and sitting down.
"Depends what I want someone to do," Serana winked.
"Whore," Babette giggled.
"Takes one to know one," Serana shot back with a chuckle.
Babette grinned as she lay down in the bed and sighed.
"Wish our beds were this comfortable."
"Maybe when a bit of gold comes in, you will get that wish," Serana replied as she lay down.
"Do you think that will happen any time soon? I mean….there aren't many of us left."
"I would have thought that you understood the world better than that," Serana said teasingly. "Anything can happen within the space of a heartbeat. Just trust in yourself and the others and the rest will fall into place."
"You are spending too much time around Morgan. She would have said that," Babette joked.
"One of many reasons why I love her so. Come on, let's get some sleep. And when we wake up, we can ask our furry friend why he never went after the others."
Babette never replied because she had already fallen asleep, much to Serana's amusement.
"My Jarl, it is good to see you again."
Morgan smiled as she was embraced by the Jarl of Solitude and she returned the gesture. Elisif smiled at her and sat down on her throne and motioned for her to sit.
"And you Morgan. I was afraid that…"
"The Stormcloaks aren't stupid enough to come after me in that way," Morgan smirked. "Not unless they have a death wish anyway. Besides, I do have many friends even after Ulfric's lies."
"The sign of a desperate man," Elisif said softly. "But words have power, is it not true?"
"Depends what sort of power," Morgan replied with a sad smile. "I am always having too be careful with my thu'um these days. I trained with the Greybeards for a while, and that training has improved my Voice in a way that borders on dangerous."
"I heard that the Greybeards could kill with a whisper."
"It's true. They can….and so can I now. Which explains why I naturally have a bigger mouth than most," Morgan laughed.
Elisif giggled and took a few moments to compose herself before speaking again.
"Thank you for coming here. I appreciate it….especially after what happened."
"It seems you came through it without harm."
"Only thanks to the assassin. She was…odd."
Morgan fought the urge to laugh.
"How so?"
"She was polite, even when she was covered in blood. And yet she killed Erikur and his men without blinking."
"Seems our mutual friend has found a new recruit or two," Morgan said, hoping that she would catch the hidden meaning.
"Indeed. It is good to see they are still our allies," Elisif replied, knowing exactly who Morgan was referring to.
"I wish I had been here to help."
"Nonsense, you have enough on your mind," Elisif replied, "You are the Dragonborn after all. You have dragons, draugr. Bandits and who knows what else to worry about."
"I worry more for my friends and allies than I do about my lifestyle," Morgan said softly.
Elisif blushed and smiled gratefully.
"Your housecarl is fine I trust?"
"Jordis is stronger than many people give her credit for," Morgan laughed in response. "She is ecstatic about the honour you bestowed on her for fighting back against the coup."
"She deserves it," Elisif smiled. "She is devoted to her duty and to you."
"And Aela, even though she is always busy these days."
Elisif nodded in agreement and crossed her legs, adjusting her dress as she met Morgan's gaze.
"I take it you won't be staying here long. You have that look again."
Morgan laughed this time.
"I have a 'look'? What do I look like?"
"Like you want to Shout every single Stormcloak into a cliff."
"I didn't think I was that obvious," Morgan joked. "But yes, you are correct. I know that the Empire has struggled since I was busy building my lair."
"Lair? You mean house, surely."
Morgan gave her a deadpan stare before winking, causing Elisif to flush again.
"You are a mean person sometimes Dragonborn."
Morgan grinned and bowed to her.
"All jokes aside, you are correct. We are fighting for survival now. Ulfric has taken Winterhold, Dawnstar and Falkreath. We only have Morthal and that is not a place that I am popular with right now," Elisif explained.
"Maybe I could go to Morthal for you," Morgan suggested.
"No…no, you have enough to do I am sure. One of my legates can go. Rikke always said that you fight best behind the scenes so to speak, and I have to agree with her. You are free to do whatever you wish, as long as you do not harm an innocent of course."
"Of course," Morgan agreed.
"So, what is next for you?"
"I have to go and see our mutual ally again and after that…who knows?"
Elisif stood up and Morgan did likewise.
"Take care of yourself Morgan. I have lost too many friends already. I lost my husband, I couldn't bear it if you were to get hurt as well."
Morgan smiled and pulled the young Jarl into an embrace.
"I will always be around for you Elisif, you know that. And I have Serana to make sure I stay safe and on the straight and narrow, so to speak."
Elisif chuckled and wiped a tear from her eye as she nodded to Morgan.
"Safe travels Morgan."
"Talos guide you," Morgan smiled back before turning around and walking down the narrow staircase.
Elisif smiled again and turned back to look at Sybille, who had been silent the whole time.
"We have work to do."
"Indeed, My Jarl. Maybe we should talk to General Rikke to see what she knows about Morthal and why Jarl Idgrod Ravencrone still refuses our aid in her village."
"I am getting fucking annoyed with the Stormcloaks," Morgan groused as she walked.
The blue spirit walking beside her chuckled darkly.
"I would have thought you would be enjoying the thought of taking their lives."
"I do…I enjoy it immensely," Morgan explained, "but they are like skeevers. You think you kill one, and then three more turn up. I only have one pair of arms and one pair of fangs Lucien. I cannot kill them all when they seemingly spawn like fucking rabbits."
"Then maybe you should start removing the sources of these vermin."
"Like the generals, or their equivalent of them," Morgan replied, catching on to what Lucien was implying.
"Exactly my child. Remove their leadership and they will have no momentum or ability to keep their discipline intact. And maybe you could get their leader in the end…"
Morgan just smirked at the thought of tearing out Ulfric Stormcloak's intestines and force feeding them to him.
"Sounds good to me. But first, we need to get back to the Sanctuary. I would expect that Gabriella would be awake by now."
"Indeed. And you could share the story of your first official kill in the Dark Brotherhood with the others," Lucien suggested.
Morgan giggled.
"You know how to speak to a lady, don't you?"
Lucien said nothing, but his smile was wide.
"How long have I been out?"
"Just sit down dear," Astrid purred as she forced the Dunmer back into a lying position. "You need to rest."
"Who survived?"
"Just res…"
"Astrid. I need to know. Who was killed?"
Astrid sighed and ran her fingers across the bridge of her nose. She almost jumped when a cool hand gently took hers and she looked down to see Gabriella had taken her hand and was looking at her with a cool gaze.
"Ar…Arnbjorn. Festus…Veezara…." Astrid choked.
"Babette?"
"She survived, as did Cicero and Nazir."
"Thank Sithis."
Astrid nodded and gently removed her hand from Gabriella's before talking again.
"Babette is with Serana, doing an assignment. Cicero is seeing to the Night Mother."
"You're hiding something," Gabriella smirked.
Astrid couldn't help but smile. Gabriella had always been able to see through her, especially when she had tried to hide good news.
"Morgan is helping us as well."
Gabriella's smile was what Astrid had wanted to see, and within seconds, she was crying, finally releasing all the emotional torment she had suppressed after so many months of hurt. She barely felt Gabriella's arms wrap around her, nor did she hear her voice whisper in her ear. But she did feel a cold embrace encircle her, and she knew that either Sithis or the Night Mother had been watching, and she knew that their fortunes would change soon enough.