A/N: Hello everyone! A big thanks to everybody who's ghosted/favorite/reviewed/followed this story! Chapter 10 is out a day early because I'm working for 48 hours straight starting at 5am tonight (wish me luck), so updating tomorrow is out of the question. After that school starts and we're hitting the part of the story that needs a little extra work, so a hiatus is coming up either this update or the next. I'm going to try to have Chapter 11 out next Sunday at the regular time, but if it's not out by then I'll have to wait until that next Sunday. I'm sorry about the lack of specifics this time around, but I'd rather improve the upcoming chapters for maximum enjoyment then just send them out half-finished. But until then, enjoy the new chapter!

She had changed. The verdant green eyes Hadvar once remembered were now an unnatural black-violet. Thin black paint slid from the bridge of her nose down to her cheeks, just touching a claw-shaped scar on her left cheekbone. Her shorter black hair was tied into a ponytail instead of her usual free flowing locks.

"You okay?" Anali asked, still looking up at the commander. Without the scrambler, her voice was exactly how he had remembered it. Gods how he had missed that melodious sound. Anali's sigh brought him back to reality. She rolled over onto her hands and knees, but Aincatar grabbed the back of her collar and shoved her against the wall. The Altmer looked back at Hadvar.

"You weren't expecting that, were you Commander?" Aincatar asked. "She's clever like that. Very clever." He pushed harder, pressing Anali up against the wall. "But I'm better." The Altmer continued. "When you live as long as I have, you learn how to deal with skeevers like her. Wait patiently, look for a mistake, and then exploit it to no end. It was fascinating just how fast she unraveled once I brought you into the fray." Aincatar's monologue was cut short when Anali wrenched her hand free and shot a fire spell over her shoulder. Aincatar yelped as a ball of fire engulfed his arm, effectively freeing the thief. Anali leapt out of Aincatar's grasp and dove for her swords. The elf charged a second shock spell, with the clear intent of hitting the thief. But instead of diving out of the way, Anali didn't move. Aincatar fired his spell, and Anali ducked. Aincatar's blast slammed into the wall behind her, and the thief was gone in a matter of moments. The elf glanced around the chamber, but the Nightingale had disappeared into the shadows.

It only took a heartbeat for the agent to locate Anali. Aincatar whipped around and tried to fire another spell, but Hadvar had hauled himself off the rocks and slammed his shield into the high elf. Aincatar stumbled to the ground, and Anali took the opportunity to grab Hadvar's forearm and make a break for the exit. They had made it out of the chamber and onto the hill outside Dustmain's Cairn when a bolt of lightning slammed into Anali from behind. She tumbled into the barrow below. Hadvar jumped in afterwards to take cover from Aincatar's arcane barrage. No sooner had the soldier's boots hit the ground had Anali's head snapped up. Her violet eyes flashed as she shot a purplish spell at him, and Hadvar's vision went black.

He awoke again to the sound of water crashing on rocks. His eyes cracked open and he was greeted by a hummingbird prodding his chest. Hadvar waved his hand and the hummingbird dashed off.

The soldier sat himself up and examined his surroundings. He was inside a sort of ice-laden cave, its mouth facing the Sea of Ghosts. That must be where the sound of water was coming from, he thought to himself. But how on Nirn did I get here? Hadvar furrowed his eyebrows, trying to recall his previous memories. He remembered finding the bone and running into Aincatar. He remembered getting pinned against the wall and Anali grabbing his forearm…

Anali.

Hadvar's head whipped around the cave, looking for the Nightingale's inky form. He found her unconscious a few feet away from him, lying supine and her head tilted towards the wall. The last spell she fired had used the rest of her energy. Hadvar scooted to the woman's side, eager to confirm it was really her. His hand came up to her familiar chin, tilting her head to face him. The woman didn't stir, but it was definitely Anali. Hadvar marveled at her succulent lips, her crow's black hair, her beautiful jawline. Anali's features were just how Hadvar had remembered them. But then his finger grazed against the peculiar scar on her left cheekbone, one that wasn't there before. Hadvar's eyes dragged to the thin black war paint that slid down from the bridge of her nose to her cheekbones. Well, almost everything. The markings and scar were new. Hadvar's eyes moved down to the symbol emblazoned on Anali's chest, and his brow furrowed in confusion. His girl as the Nightingale didn't make sense. The Anali he knew would never steal, especially at the skill the Nightingale had. She was a Legionnaire, for Talos' sake! What on Nirn was going on?

Hadvar sat back on his knees, his head swimming with so many questions and no way to answer them. He would have to wait for Anali to wake up in order to get at the real truth. In the meantime, Hadvar would have to find a way to busy himself until she did. The commander hoisted himself back onto his feet, rolling his aching shoulders. Aincatar's magic certainly packed a punch. Hadvar had never before seen a mage that could pin a fully grown man against the wall with a flick of his hand. The elf's power was extraordinary...and unnatural.

Hadvar walked outside to observe his surroundings. The Sea of Ghosts was only a few hilltops away and the commander could see a herd of horkers by the shore. There were only three of the beasts-and though he didn't want to leave Anali unguarded, Hadvar knew they needed to find food soon. It didn't take him long to slide down the icy hills and come face to face with the tiny herd. The horkers brayed and bared their tusks once they caught sight of him. Hadvar slowed his approach and put his hand on the hilt of his sword. He was no hunter. He knew he had no chance of sneaking up on them. Havdar would have to do this the hard way.

Three horker fights later, Hadvar was carrying several cuts of horker meat back to the cave. He was starving, and he was sure Anali would be too when she woke up. He recalled Anali's favorite food was horker meat, but he didn't know if that had changed over the years. Already he wasn't liking how things were shaping up. Anali was declared dead four years ago. The Nightingale has been around for only two of those years. That left the other half of her disappearance unaccounted for, and what had happened in that time was anyone's guess.

Hadvar plopped the horker meat onto the icy ground as he piled the firewood he'd gathered. A glance at Anali's still figure told the commander she hadn't woken up yet. It wasn't until the horker meat was halfway cooked that Anali's brow finally twitched. Hadvar looked up from the fire when her brows creased together and her head rocked from side to side. The small movements turned to thrashing, and Hadvar realized Anali was having a nightmare rather than waking up.

"Hey." Hadvar said, gently shaking Anali's shoulders. When she didn't respond, Hadvar tried again. "Anali! Wake up, you're okay!" Anali sat up with a start, eyes wide and chest heaving. Her violet irises dragged across the cave as Anali tried to reorient herself from whatever she had dreamt about. They fell on Hadvar, and he could see a wave of emotion cross her face. Anali's features fell into brief confusion, and then into understanding.

"My hood's off, isn't it?" She said, cocking an eyebrow at Hadvar's bewildered expression. Hadvar responded with a nod and Anali fell back onto the cot. "Then I owe you some answers, don't I?" Anali said as she buried her eyes in the crook of her elbow. Hadvar gave a large huff and crossed his arms across his chest.

"Why?" Hadvar asked.

"Why what?" The Nightingale replied, not moving a muscle.

"Why didn't you tell me?" Hadvar blurted. Anali took her arm away from her eyes and looked up at the commander. She didn't give a response, allowing Hadvar to continue. "You've been alive all this time?" Hadvar continued on. "Why in Oblivion didn't you come and find me? Do you have any idea what living without you's been like? What I've been through?" Anali's jaw clenched ever so slightly.

"I'm sure I can just ask Ysolda." Anali quipped as she sat herself back up. Hadvar visibly flinched.

"Hey, come on." He protested. "That's not fair. I thought you were-"

"Dead, I know." Anali cut him off and rose to her feet. "I get that part. Seems like everyone thinks that way."

"So why didn't you tell us otherwise?" Hadvar asked again, exasperated. Anali drew a tired sigh.

"You're missing the big picture here, Hadvar." Anali replied. "I was a wanted woman right out of the gate. Things only got worse once Aincatar got involved. You have no idea how far that damned elf would go to get rid of me. Trust me, you were better off not knowing I was alive. He'd have beaten the info out of you."

"I can take him." Hadvar protested, rolling his shoulders and lifting his chin. His remark earned him a raised eyebrow from Anali.

"Yeah sure, smartypants." The thief quipped, smiling slightly. "Let's take a look at how that last attempt ended up."

"Okay," Hadvar said, his posture drooping. "Maybe not. But the Nightingale's only been around for two years. Why couldn't you contact me before then?"

"Well, I didn't just spontaneously become the Nightingale." Anali chuckled. "It took me a little over half a year to get there. As for the remaining sixteen months…" She trailed off, moving to the mouth of the cave to stare out at the sea. Anali sighed. "The story I told you before was real. Well, most of it. The only lie was that I never had a cellmate and I never commited suicide. But gods, was I close." The woman gave a dry chuckle. "I had that gods-forsaken, rusty nail to my throat when all the cell doors on my block swung open. Turns out one of my Guild thieves was in the fort performing one of his jailbreaks. He freed all the other prisoners to confuse the guards." Anali paused to take another breath.

"And then for some reason I decided I didn't want to give up. I don't know how or why I came to that conclusion, and I don't think I'm supposed to know. Something made me get up and follow Cynric to the Nightgate Inn. I don't remember much of the rest, but I do remember waking up in the Flagon. And that's how I joined the Thieves Guild."

Hadvar walked up behind Anali and put his hand on her shoulder. He didn't know what else to do. Anali briefly tensed at the unexpected contact, but then she cast a quick glance at him and relaxed.

"So that robbery at Jorrvaskr," Hadvar began. "That was you?"

Anali looked at him and gave a slight nod.

"And that Orc stronghold in the Reach. That was you, too?" Anali nodded again.

"That one was certainly exciting." She commented. "It took some creativity to get past the guards there."

"And the vampire coven?" Anali nodded yet again. Hadvar's eyebrows raised. He couldn't believe his girl could be so good at thievery.

"I'd never tried it before." Anali said, reading his thoughts like she always had. "Honestly, none were more surprised than myself when I figured out I can do these things." Hadvar pulled Anali a little closer. To his mild surprise, her confession as the Nightingale hardly bothered him. So what if she was a thief? Anali was alive. Alive! He couldn't believe it. After all those years...Hadvar's grief over her death seemed like a distant memory. He was one lucky man.

"So…" Anali said, peeking out the mouth of the cavern. "Do you have any idea where we are?"

"That's the Sea of Ghosts." Hadvar gestured to the blue expanse in the horizon. "Which means we're close to Windhelm and deep in Stormcloak territory. We'll have to move carefully if we don't want to attract rebel attention."

"Right." Anali affirmed, heading back into the cave and scooping up her Nightingale hood. "I think we should stay here for now until we've figured out a game plan." Anali continued as she stuffed the hood into one of her pockets. "Are you hungry?"

"Food's over here." Hadvar replied, gesturing to the horker meat on the fire pit. Anali strode over to the fire and squatted down, examining the food. She plucked a cut of horker meat from the spit and took a small bite. She laughed, smiling knowingly.

"You didn't salt the meat, did you?"