The arena slowly empties, my companion rode out with the Argonian child a while ago. I stand up to leave, but stop when Dreekius taps my shoulder. She hisses something, motions for me to follow her, and walks down the stairs. As I follow her I can't help noticing how her walk is almost a slither. I shudder. I despise snakes with a passion, and the Nagas breed of Argonians is more snake than man. All of them (including Dreekius) have black scales, black eyes, have gigantic mouths full of venomous fangs, and stand roughly eight feet tall. Even looking at Dreekius causes my heart to speed up in fear, but I still follow her. I'm not disappointed. Dreekius leads me to my Khajiit friend, the child now seated on her shoulders. The two are exchanging hisses, but stop when Dreekius lets out a loud screech. My Khajiit friends hisses at the Nagas Argonian, but I can tell it's not in anger. The Argonian hisses right back.

The two exchange hisses for a while, then Dreekius pulls a piece of paper from her pocket and scribbles something on it. My friend lifts the child off her shoulders and places her on the ground, and I realize the child is another Nagas Argonian. Dreekius hands the child the paper, the Khajiit pats her on her scaly head, and the child quickly rushes away. Dreekius and my friend exchange a few more words in Jel, shake hands, and Dreekius leaves. My friend turns to me and smiles, obviously pleased to see me. I smile back and ask her, "What happened?". She offers me her arm, I take it, and she tells me, "That Argonian child came all the way from Valenwood to join us, but she's too young. She'd have to wait another three years before she could join our ranks. When someone wants to join they have to speak to their representative. She's a Nagas Argonian, so Dreekius represents her.".

"When you join our ranks you get a weekly paycheck, food, and shelter. The child wasn't in our ranks, so she had to take care of herself. I convinced Dreekius to let her join three years earlier than normal, but she's going to be inactive. We usually only allow wounded or old members to become inactive, but Dreekius allowed it just this once. Inactive members get the same benefits, but don't have to work. Dreekius allowed it, but I had to swear to do a favor for her if she ever needs it. The child won't have to worry about food, shelter, or basic needs the rest of her life. I thought it would be bad of me if I simply put the child down and told her to leave.". Her generosity takes me by surprise and I tell her, "That was very good of you, I'm glad to see there is still some kindness left in this world.". The Khajiit begins leading me around camp and ask me, "What would you like to do? The tournament took a while, but we still have a few hours before bed.".

I shrug and tell her, "The merchants that follow the army are probably still selling stuff. Care to check their wares?". The Khajiit nods and tells me, "I have some gold that's burning a hole in my pocket.". We make our way to the market, but a question burns in my mind. As we walk I ask the woman, "What do you think Dreekius wants in return?". She shrugs and says, "Probably nothing of importance.". I nod, but feel an uneasiness worm its way into my skull. I don't trust Dreekius. Then, we arrive at the market and my woes are soon forgotten.

Sybille POV:

I pace back and forth, the sunlight outside trapping me inside the room that I call a lair. I haven't left my room since I first arrived, and I can feel hunger destroying my throat. If Falk walked in right now he would know what I truly am. I haven't been able to focus on anything since I left the mercenary. Damned bitch. She ignores my advice, went against everything I said, and could kill the queen at any second if she loses control of herself. She's one of the biggest fools in the world. I've never met her breed of vampire, but I know they're dangerous. If she'd just listened to me, then she could control herself by now. I left in a rage, but now I'm starting to regret it. She was the only other vampire I'd ever met, and I bailed on her. But what can I do? Elisif hasn't punished me for my actions yet, but she could at any moment. Then, an idea hits me out of thin air like a charging mammoth hitting a baby rabbit.

I could show her how much she needs me. How essential I am to her learning process. I'm not sure why I care so much what the filthy mercenary thinks, but I want her to need my assistance. It bothers me that she hasn't already come begging for help. Why do I even care? I can't answer that question, but I know that I do. I quickly walk over to my desk, get out a bottle of blood, and drain the container of the liquid. I feel power return to my veins. I pack and begin leaving, telling Falk a lie about where I'm going on my way out. He throws a fit, but knows better than to argue with me. I all but run down to the stables, mount the fastest horse there, and ride back towards Markarth. As I ride I try to come up with a plan. I can't let the mercenary or queen know I've returned, that would defeat the purpose of me coming back. I want to show the Khajiit how much she needs me, I can't let her know I've come back.

But how do I make her screw up so badly that she admits she needs me? I can't put the queen's life in danger, but I need something similar to that. I already have a sloppy plan in the back of my mind. I can interfere with her feeding, tempt her with a fresh blood source, and make her embarrass herself in front of Elisif. Maybe I could slip some drugs in her drinks for a few nights, then she'll fall asleep at night and can't feed off anyone in the daylight. Then, I could cut some sort of animal (dog, cat, or horse) and have it scuttle across her path during the day. If Elisif is with her at the time it'll be all the better. The queen will see the mercenary tear apart a defenseless animal, and then she'll want me back to teach the mercenary. The Khajiit will realize what a mistake she's made and take my advice. Finally, I'll have a vampiric fellow that knows everything she knows about being a vampire from me.

That's a decent plan, but it's poorly formed and only a rough idea. I could always do something else. My horse is extremely fast, I'm surprised she wasn't already taken. I can already see the camp in the distance. I spur my horse on even faster, but don't enter the large Imperial camp. I walk around the perimeter of the camp, The Reach conceals many small, hidden caves. I choose one and walk my horse into it, the supplies tied to her sides hold all of the things I need. I set up a small camp, and tie my horse up inside. Not a soul alive will be able to spot my camp, and not a single soul will know I'm here. I told Falk I was going to Riften, and I'll periodically write him fake notes and send them by bird (I'll have to sneak into camp to send them). I sit outside until night, smile, stand, and begin making my way towards camp. A small, purple vial of poison in my right hand.

I silently snarl when I see the Khajiit wrapped in the queen's arms, a peaceful look on her face. Damned Khajiit bitch. She'll get what she deserves soon enough. I pour the poison in my mouth, carefully lean in (I make sure not to wake Elisif), and bite the vampire's arm. I slowly shoot the liquid into her veins, making sure not to spill a single drop. When I'm done I pull back, gather my saliva, and spit the remaining poison out of my mouth. I smile and sneak out of the tent, and out of the camp. The poison will rapidly increase the rate of her vampirism, cause her to crave more blood, and make it to where she needs more blood to revert to her first stage of vampirism. I'm certain the Khajiit won't feed off of the queen (she would have lost control around Elisif by now if she was going to), but she'll drink the blood of a bleeding animal. I smile as I walk away from the camp, my plan coming together.