I know, it's been a while! And after re-reading my earlier chapters, I relize they need a major overhaul. So I might re-write this story pretty soon.

Thanks for reading guys!

Night

Adaya left Nivex's room, not wanting to keep the mage awake any longer. Adaya didn't know whether Sheogorath was lying and something else happened, but Nivex was a wreck. Despite it being late at night, Adaya needed to get away, and hoped no one noticed as she escaped the palace and made her way out of New Sheoth.

After walking along the grass for a half hour, she finally found a place to sit. It was a hill overlooking the land with clear sight of the colorful night sky. It was a nice place to clear her mind.

She sat down, not taking her eyes off the breath-taking sky, the swirling pink and purple intertwining with the bright white stars.

"Running from our troubles, are we?"

Adaya sighed. She recognized the bizarre accent right away. Well, so much for wanting some time alone.

"Of course not," Adaya replied, still keeping her eyes away from him, "Just…needed to get away."

Sheogorath said nothing as if waiting for her to continue. In fact, he was silent for a very long time, and that made her nervous. She wondered for a moment if he was even still there.

"Besides…I still have to close that gate."

"Aye, forgot about the gate, "Sheogorath chuckled, "Always about the gate."

He tapped her shoulder with a bottle and sat down next to her.

"Ale?" She chuckled, taking it from him, "Always know how to cheer me up. Don't know if I'm in the mood, though."

"Consider it a present."

"After trying to kill my mentor?" she raised an eyebrow, but quickly regretted saying it. Maybe she did need the drink. She never found herself comfortable sociably, anyway. "Bottoms up," Adaya mumbled. "It's good."

"Should be, if it's brewed for a Prince. Made special by my dear brother Sanguine's followers."

"He seems as arrogant as you." She laughed.

"Not as much as arrogant than knowing what we can take. Otherwise, what we could have taken was wasted. But my character isn't important right now. Not much is, anyway. Except my boredom, and for everyone's sake, that's always important."

"I wouldn't want to see what it's like for you to be bored…" Adaya agreed.

Sheogorath sighed. "I'll never be bored with the Greymarch on its way. I suppose that's a plus to this predicament. Speaking of importance, it seems you have a priority as well. At least an obsession. The gate?"

Adaya nodded. "Otherwise I would've left by now."

"I doubt that, little mortal. As much as I despise needing anyone, I need your services. And when I'm in need of something, I get it. You can only run so far."

Adaya raised a brow. "Is that a threat? I should be more offended."

Sheogorath's smile fell. "Yes. You should. But you're not….peculiar…"

Adaya tore away from his gaze. Perhaps she finally accepted Daedra thrived on threats to would have not doubted he would come for her. He was still Daedra, after all.

She cleared her throat. "Why…do you keep the gate open? To Nirn, I mean?"

"Well isn't it obvious? To keep you here."

"You could've gotten someone better to do this job." She looked up at him. "I'm no good. Before this is over, I'll fall and leave you with no one."

"Now that's no way for a champion to talk!" he piped up, "Watch your tongue. If there was someone better, they'd be here, wouldn't they?"

Adaya smiled.

"Tell me," he continued, "why do fight so hard over a gate? Why is it so important to be closed?"

"I'm not too sure. I suppose it's expected of me," Adaya let her eyes fall, "After the Oblivion crisis." She looked at Sheogorath and his odd expression. "…You know, the one with Dagon? He tried to enter Nirn?"

"Again? How many times has that dolt tried now?"

Adaya chuckled. "He almost succeeded this time. He opened…many gates. Each one with Daedra coming out to slaughter who ever. I had to go through each one and closed them. It was…terrible. All I remember about Dagon's realm is fire and blood."

For a moment, both stayed silent as Adaya collected her thoughts.

"Well," Sheogorath broke the silence, "Not every realm can be as gracious as mine."

"Sure," Adaya laughed. When she looked up at him, she was surprised to find his black and yellow eyes glimmering back at her. She tried looking back at him, but her cheeks flared and she instantly turned her eyes back to the ground.

"I'm…glad."

Sheogorath said nothing at first, instead examining her, not even removing his eyes. It surprised him. All mortals were generally weak, and she didn't look like she'd fall in the 'heroic' category. Adaya was small, fragile-looking. Yet, somehow she was able to achieve obstacles no other man could. It amazed him.

"You never had to be a hero."

"She looked back at him. "Sorry?"

"You could've ignored the gate. Ignore people in need. Even back away once you saw the Gatekeeper. You could always leave the problems for the next poor fellow to fix. After all, mortals preach will most of all."

Adaya took a moment to think.

"Yes, I could've," She said, adjusting her position beside him, "I haven't always been heroic, and I sure don't count myself as one, now. There are a lot of people that died, and I regret not doing more about it. Like…Martin Septim. He willingly sacrificed himself to save everyone. But I feel like…if I just pushed myself just a little harder…" she took a deep breath, trying keep herself from crying, "I could've done something more to where he didn't have to die. He cared so much…"

Sheogorath stayed perfectly silent through all of this. He knew problems of many people, and most were worse off than her. However, all of this coming from Adaya, for some reason, interested him more. Something in the pit of his stomach made him feel uneasy.

"You loved this mortal?" he noted. Adaya looked up.

"Yeah…I guess I did…very much…."

Neither said anything after that. Instead, they both sat there in silence, the bottle he brought only half drunken and sat on the ground next to her. Adaya seemed finished with it, clearly feeling the effects of it. He only intended for her to calm down, forgetting mortals seem to not follow their drinking limits.

His mind was someplace else, though that wasn't unusual. It wasn't until he felt Adaya's hair nuzzled against his cheek did his attention come back. She had snuggled on his shoulder, something she wouldn't be doing if sober, he was sure. It was a strange act that he occasionally saw mortals do, but never understood it. Still, with her sitting there, her eyes closed and looking so comfortable, he wouldn't complain. After all, she was warm, and he enjoyed the small moment of intimacy.

"I'm sorry," she whispered," for…saying all those things."

If Sheogorath was positive he had a heart, he was sure it would've fallen out of his chest when she said that. He actually found it hard to breath at that point. Saying nothing, he raised his hand to her head, holding it there as he felt her soft hair. She didn't protest.

He kissed her head gently. He couldn't help himself, and cursed mentally when he did. She still didn't seem to mind. In fact, Adaya adjusted herself and gave a small smile. It was nice, Sheogorath thought, and he was glad she was happy before she found out what the Greymarch really was.