Chapter Twenty-Nine

"We should head to the inn," Vex was saying as she and Mjoll approached Solitude, their sailboat docked down with the rest of the ships, minuscule in comparison to the boast-worthy ships. "We can wait for Lydia and Iona there, and with luck some of my letters will have been returned." Mjoll gave a small grunt to the woman, and they had come up to the stone-laden hill that would lead to the main gates of the city. After their discussion on the beach, they'd both decided it was best to simply head to their agreed rally point with the housecarls, seeing as it had been a limit of five days not a minimum. There was nothing left for them anyways at this point.

Just outside the city however, nestled in an outcropping from the cliffside, was a series of tents and a campfire. The pair's attention was caught by it as the soft notes of a lute reached their ears, and their curiosity was garnered. There were six khajiit in all, two of them dressed in steel armor while the other four seemed far more like the typical traveler. One in particular was holding a lute, strumming the instrument as he watched them, a slight smirk to his face. For a khajiit, he seemed even furrier then most. Vex narrowed her eyes as she struggled with something, feeling as if she knew him but something about him looked a bit different. The khajiit had a black mohawk that spiked upwards to about the height of his ears which had tufts of black fur at the tops, as well as what Vex could place as a beard of some sorts around his entire jawline. In the moonlight his brown fur and darker toned stripes and spots were hardly indiscernible from one another, rather what stood out the most was his silvery underfur markings; his muzzle, throat and around his golden eyes brightly illuminated in the late hour. As Vex's eyes fell upon a trio of earrings, two in his right ear and one in the other, she suddenly realized who the bard was.

"Rifgy!" She announced, turning sharply on her heels towards the caravan. Mjoll, utterly at a loss, mutely followed. "By the Eight is that you you old house cat?"

The khajiit gave her a curling smile, and nodded her head. "It is Rifgy, yes. Vex, it has been a long time since Khajiit has seen you."

"Been pretty busy, you know how it goes," Vex half-laughed. Mjoll's eyes widened a bit, this was a fairly friendly exchange, something that coming from the imperial seemed an impossible interaction. "Where's Athreo? I have much I need to speak to her about." The excitement died away into a thick, heavy seriousness.

Rifgy seemed to notice the change, and nodded his head. "Of course, Rifgy understands. There will be time to catch up later." He looked over his shoulder towards the larger tent of the caravan, and called out, "Athreo! There are guests to see you!" The flaps of the tent pulled back, and a tan furred khajiit poked her head out, green eyes wide as moons as she blearily looked at the two women. Suddenly her ears perked forward, and the feline woman slipped out into the cool night. She wore a soft green colored dress, brown hair braided down to the mid of her neck. She had light cream spots all across her form and sandy colored undertones, a few dusty brown stripes on her form, most notable being the stripe the curved away from her eye down her cheek like a tear streak on both sides of her face. In all, she was a fairly beautiful khajiit, an aura about her that exuded grace and charm.

"Vex?" She inquired upon her approach. "This One was not expecting to see imperial in person. Athreo sent letters instead."

"I didn't think our paths would cross either," replied Vex, "but I'm glad they did. Have you seen the redguard woman I described in my letter to you on your travels?"

"This One could not believe who it was you sought," Athreo replied, awe in her voice at something the pair of women did not understand. "This One knows the redguard well."

Mjoll interjected, excitement and hope rising, "You've seen her?"

"Recently? No, Athreo has not. Khajiit knows this redguard from before."

Brow furrowed, Vex tilted her head a bit. "Athreo, what are you going on about?"

"Khajiit has been a caravaner for many years. Thirteen years ago, caravan went to Hammerfell. When caravan returned, a redguard man and woman begged to travel with caravan, they said dangerous men were after them. Khajiit, kind and generous, allowed redguards to accompany. Min and Vastin." Vex and Mjoll's eyes widened with alarm, glancing between each other with sheer disbelief. Mjoll had learned what had happened to Vastin, and Vex as well, from the redguard herself but they'd never heard the tale from another. It seemed like such an isolated incident, as if no one else should have been allowed to know it, intimate knowledge for those Yosa'Min decided to share it well. Learning more of it from another almost felt wrong, and yet they could not turn away from the story as it was shared. "Min and Vastin were polite, kind, and kept to themselves, khajiit were fine with this. As caravan crossed the border into Skyrim, bandits swarmed and attacked." A shadow had crossed Athreo's face, darkness at the memory filling her, Rifgy grimacing besides her. "Rifgy and Athreo were the only two to survive... Or so khajiit had thought."

Rifgy growled faintly. "Rifgy fought, tried very hard! But bandits were too strong... Lost many good friends that day."

Vex gave the khajiit a pitying look. "I'm so sorry..."

"What was..." Mjoll spoke softly, "What was Yosa'Min like?"

"Min was a young girl, hardly an adult. She kept to herself and her brother, not liking to talk to khajiit without him. Min was sneaky, but khajiit did not think bad of her for it. Min would catch caravan food sometimes. This One had hoped redguards would stay..."

"She watched Athreo and Rifgy," the male sniffed, "This One thinks she had never seen khajiit before."

Athreo nodded her head. "Khajiit mourned the loss of other khajiit and two redguards for many years. Then redguard woman stole Rifgy's lute a few years ago, but Athreo could not believe it was same redguard despite Rifgy's claims. Now..."

"Rifgy thinks Athreo owes him an apology."

"This One is sorry," she purred, the male khajiit's eyes shining with interest at the other and he grinned widely. "Khajiit knows your friend, that is true. This One would like to help."

Vex couldn't help but wonder what Yosa'Min would have been like if she had become a caravaner with the khajiit instead of a thief and the Dragonborn. It was fairly odd to imagine. Pictures of the redguard happy and on the road with these curious people conjuring up in her mind, the man Vex had never met, Vastin, there besides Yosa'Min, guiding her and the caravan over dangerous paths and through hard times. An entirely different life, cut down by the blade of a savage killer, a chance for happiness robbed by bloodlust. Vex clenched her fist besides her at the thought, and she scowled ever so faintly. "Have you heard anything about vampires?" She asked tightly.

With a nod, the khajiit shuffled a bit closer. "Vampires are growing strong. There are rumors in the air that they seek the moth priest in Skyrim."

"Moth priest?" Balked Mjoll. "Here in Skyrim? I thought they didn't stray from the Imperial City."

"Many frightening figures have been asking many a question of moth priests... They speak with fangs and glowing eyes, a vampire no?" The women nodded in agreement. "Athreo does not know if Min is among these vampires, but Athreo does know where moth priest is." The Lioness quirked a brow with disbelief. "Khajiit have big ears for good reason nord," she purred, "khajiit hear many things. Moth priest went to Dragon Bridge, to the south. Khajiit passed by there on way to Solitude. There was a wreck outside town."

Vex however, wasn't fully convinced of what Athreo was implying, and decided to press a bit for more information. "What could the vampires want with a moth priest?"

A shrug rolled its way off the khajiit's shoulders. "This One does not know. This One only knows that vampires seek moth priest, and moth priest is missing. Curious no?" She gave the imperial a knowing look, the kind criminals gave when they were being slick. Vex nodded her head softly. "Of course, what Vex does is up to Vex."

"Thanks for all the information," replied the imperial. "We should probably go now."

"Stay for a song?" Rifgy asked like a pleading child.

Vex and Mjoll shared looked, and while Mjoll obviously wanted to get to a bed to rest her head in, Vex couldn't deny she would like to linger on and talk more with the khajiit. She'd made friends with them while she'd rebuilt the Guild, and they'd always been trustworthy. The passing thought that they'd have to wait until Lydia and Iona arrived anyways before they could plan anything came to mind. "You go on ahead," Vex said and Mjoll simply walked away. "Sure Rifgy, I'll listen for a little while." The khajiit perked up, and quickly began to strum on his lute, the music a beautiful accent to the first streaks of dawn that rose on the horizon.


She'd been watching her for the past three hours, staring at the woman who was drinking at the bar. Yosa'Min snarled softly, scooting backwards in the seat she occupied and glanced to Serana who was quite bored looking across from her. They'd arrived at Solitude a bit ago only to find that there were Dawnguard crawling everywhere in the city. Serana hadn't realized who they were at first of course, as the order was new to her, but Yosa'Min had practically dragged the vampire into the shadows upon spotting the sun and shield crest. Serana would have liked to simply take them out, but there were too many prying eyes in such a tight city as Solitude, and disposing of a patrol of Dawnguard would only alert Isran of where they'd been. Deciding sneaking about was their best option, they'd taken up a dark corner of the inn and were simply waiting for their chance.

There was talk in the air, the thick mead scent of the tavern nauseating to Yosa'Min as it mixed with the smoke from the fire. A bard was singing besides the hearth, and many city-folk were dining at the early hour or drinking themselves into a stupor. She took in all the sights and smells of the city-life, something that she used to be so familiar with, but now felt very foreign to her. This was the first time since her transformation that Yosa'Min had been around large groups of mortals, and her senses were being quite taxed by it. There was so many things to notice about Solitude, the small details in the stonework or the whispers of citizens in dark alleyways. If she focused, she could practically hear the beating of mortal hearts, a constant background noise to their cacophony of other sounds. Someone spilled their drink, grumbling to themselves before they passed out on the bar. Yosa'Min crinkled her nose distastefully, trying not to remember when she was like that, a hapless, drunken slob.

They were waiting for the Dawnguard to leave but they seemed to have rooted themselves in place, as if they were expecting someone's entrance. There were three of them; a breton man, a dunmer woman and a nord man. They were having a riot of a time at the bar, talking loudly and boasting to the people about how they were killing vampires left and right to protect them. A few times a citizen would challenge them, only for the vampire hunters to swiftly prove them otherwise with some other tale or perfect explanation. Serana was gritting her fangs as she listened, imagining all of her kin they had killed simply because they had glowing eyes. She knew better than most that there was more to a vampire than their thirst for blood. A vast majority of them still held onto their minds, kept the beast at bay and were exemplary people that simply wanted to be left alone and allowed to live. Of course, most mortals saw fangs and glowing eyes and assumed the vampire wanted to kill them and would torch whole clans without question.

The rising gossip of that happening just over in Morthal made her claws dig into the armrests of her chair. From what the mortals were saying, a pair of nord warriors had come into the town, done a bit of looking around, and then raided a vampire clan in the swamp, killing anything vampiric in the slightest before they left in just a big a rush as they'd come. Serana hoped there was more to the story, probably the locals were being threatened or attacked by the vampires, but until she heard the rest it sounded as if the clan had done nothing more than be a clan of vampires. They couldn't really be blamed for doing what they had to to survive could they? She shrugged those thoughts away, reminding herself of where she was, and looked to Yosa'Min who was still staring at the Dawnguard.

"I don't think they're going to be moving anywhere anytime soon," Serana whispered, leaning a bit in her chair.

"I figured," grumbled Yosa'Min, "If only we didn't have to keep things quiet. The Dawnguard was already rearing its head when I became a vampire," she further said, still staring at the armor clad trio, "but now they seem to have erupted in size and power. Probably got the whole of Riften in their ranks just looking for a place to sleep that wasn't freezing, or a job."

Serana tilted her head a bit. "What do you mean?"

"There's a harsh winter hitting all of Skyrim, even Riften is being effected. The Dawnguard's home is in Dayspring Canyon, which is right next to the town in the mountains. They were trying to recruit people, that's how I managed to infiltrate them so easily, they literally let me in, so I wouldn't be too surprised if they managed to get more people. They were probably extra careful with who they let in after me though," she laughed slightly, finding it funny, "Especially for those that came from Riften."

Serana chewed her cheek a bit, trying to think of what to say next. The air between them had been fairly awkward since their conversation earlier, neither one really saying much about this or that. Sitting there in the inn for so long had been just as horribly unnerving as they were both just eager to get on with their quest, but with 'vampire' coming out of everyone's mouths every few seconds, it was clearly too risky for them to make a move just yet. The Dawnguard would pick them out, the town would turn on them, and then they'd be running for their lives with no information to go off of. Alternatively they could try to charm the Dawnguard and make them leave, but it would be too obvious to the rest of the guests in the inn. Yosa'Min also claimed that while she had been in Fort Dawnguard, she'd noticed a few of them training to resist the magic of a vampire, and that would be a risky move to make. Throwing in the fact that dawn was already swiftly approaching, and there was no way they would make it to a proper shelter from the sunlight in time, Serana did not like their situation all too much. Left with no choice but to hide and wait, they were swiftly falling into a off-putting silence.

Before they could further fall into that awkwardness however, the door to the inn opened and in came a woman neither of them had been expecting to see. Mjoll the Lioness strode into the tavern, a heavy satchel on her back and a very haunted look in her face. She moved towards the bar, golden hair ruffled and her eyes hardened like metal. From where she sat, Yosa'Min had a very clear view of Mjoll, and her breath hitched in her chest. "Divines, why?" Whispered the redguard, dismayed that the nord had made an appearance. Her feet were rooted to the floor, hands clutching the armrests, unable to move, eyes blazing across at the warrior. Serana stiffened quite clearly, and looked at her fledgling.

"Yosa you know you can't let her see us," she cautioned.

"I know..." Said back the Dragonborn, "But why?"

"Solitude is the nearest town from where she had been," replied Serana, "it makes sense. I can't believe I didn't think of that." She felt rather stupid for such an oversight.

Yosa'Min's gaze fell upon Mjoll who was sitting right next to the boisterous Dawnguard, already clutching a tankard in her hand and drowning herself in it. The slump in her shoulders, the pain upon her face the Lioness didn't bother hiding; it stirred a multitude of feelings within the redguard who pressed her legs together, biting her lip. She was thirsty. With just a small bit of concentration, she singled out the sounds of the nord out of all the others in the tavern. Soft, slow breaths, the beating of her heart, a constant rhythmic pulse that would rock any soul into a tranquil slumber. Last time she had been so close, so desperate, it had taken everything she had to restrain herself and not harm the nord despite so much of herself wanting to drink her blood. Her mind swiftly was beginning to conjure up images of the pair, tucked away in a corner, fangs buried in Mjoll's neck. Now that she thought about it, it had been a little while since she'd properly fed, and with such a tempting piece right there before her already...

A small whimper escaped the woman, and Serana bristled with alarm. "Stop it," she ordered briskly, snapping the fledgling out of her thoughts of whisking away Mjoll and having a small taste.

"Maybe it's a sign!" Gasped Yosa'Min defensively, like a child making excuses to do something bad.

"I thought you didn't believe in gods and masters," curtly replied Serana, "Now control yourself, I'm sure she will be gone soon."

"When Mjoll drinks, she drinks. She won't be gone for a long while." One look and they noticed Mjoll was already on her third drink.

"Well neither are those Dawnguard so clearly we're stuck here further. Now stop it, and get yourself under control."

"But I'm not doing anything!"

"You're thinking about it, and that's where it all starts." Yosa'Min scrunched up her face at Serana, scowling haughtily, and then huffed. Her attention fell back on Mjoll, watching her. Serana narrowed her eyes slightly, recalling a very important fact, and then looked at Yosa'Min. "Where's her friend?"

"They're not friends," groused Yosa'Min.

Rolling her eyes, Serana gestured to the alone nord. "Friends or not they were together, and now she's alone. Vex, that was her name right?" Yosa'Min nodded. "She's... interesting." Yosa'Min shrugged slightly, her interest more wrapped up in the Lioness than vampire besides her. Serana felt her own thoughts drifting, the boredom of the time they'd spent waiting for a chance steadily falling in place and gnawing at her defenses. The imperial entered her mind, the very curious creature she was. "What is she like?" Serana asked, catching Yosa'Min off-guard, the redguard furrowing her brow at the sire. "I get the feeling she will still try to pursue you, so I'd like to know more about who we're being followed by."

A slight frown was still present on the redguard's face as she straightened up, perhaps displeased with not being allowed to focus on Mjoll any longer who was still at the bar, and sighed. "Vex is a very peculiar person. When I first met her I thought that she was just a cold-hearted thief who was beyond gorgeous, I fell pretty hard for her but to be honest... It was a pretty shallow ordeal. When I met Mjoll things changed between Vex and I, or at least when I started to fall for Mjoll as well."

"Wait, you were with both of them?" Serana blinked.

"Well yes and no. I was lying to them both really, about what I wanted and this and that because I wasn't too certain myself. Mjoll also didn't know I was a thief at first either, something she cannot stand. I was with Vex first, and then Mjoll, and when Vex found out she was practically the personification of a scorned woman." Yosa'Min shook her head shamefully. "She was cold, spiteful, and dead-set of revenge. Nothing can stop her when she puts her mind to something, especially when she's angry about it too. However," her gaze fell upon the floor as she continued, "She's more than that. Vex isn't just the persona she puts up, a detached cold-hearted bitch, there are whole layers beneath it. She wasn't wrong about claiming to be one of my most loyal friends, because she's been at my side since before things fell apart with Mjoll and even now. Vex will fight for who she cares about, even if she isn't very open about showing who that is. You don't mess with Vex or her family. She's sarcastic, quick witted, and so brilliant with daggers you'd think she was born wielding them." Emotion filled her voice, once pleasant now painful memories flooding Yosa'Min's mind, and the redguard looked at Serana with a pleading look. "Can I please stop?"

Serana nodded her head, and the redguard cupped her face with a deep sigh. "I'm sorry... Perhaps I shouldn't have asked," apologized the sire. "I don't know what I was thinking."

"You're being cautious," simply said Yosa'Min, "that's all. I can't be upset about that... I could tell you about Lydia and Iona if you'd like, Mjoll... I'd rather not talk about for now if that's okay."

"Don't worry about it," Serana said swiftly, "just forget I ever asked." Her burning gaze returned to the nord at the bar who was being chatted up by some young man, Mjoll utterly disinterested yet he hadn't quite gotten the clue. The doors to the inn opened once more, and in strode the second woman who now was not as surprising in her arrival. Vex, looking equally as haggard, seemed to glow with the sneaking light of dawn that pooled in behind her. Serana's gaze fell upon the woman quite heavily, watching as the imperial made her way over to the bar, not really noticing the trio of armor-clad soldiers who had moved to a table across the tavern. Unfortunately, the Dawnguard had noticed her, and were already on their feet bristling with fury.

As they drew their swords, the breton pointed at the thief and bellowed, "Vex!"

She looked over at them, bored, and sighed. "Yes?"

"You'll pay for what you did thief! Rogues like you ought to be slain like the swine you are!"

Mjoll had turned to look at the trio who were like slobbering, rabid dogs, a rage burning in their eyes so hot that it might have melted metal if at all possible. She grumbled something to Vex who snickered, the imperial shaking her head back and forth, and then rose to her feet. "Obviously you lot want a fight," Mjoll challenged with a slur, drawing her weapon, "come and get it."

The Dawnguard ran forward, utter disregard for the innkeeper who was hollering for them to stop, and barreled through the tables to where the duo waited. The breton was carrying a shield with him, blocking Mjoll's first attack before slashing at her torso with his sword, only for the nord to block it with the long hilt of her battleaxe. Vex dashed at the dunmer who was trying to get at Mjoll's exposed flank, digging daggers into the elf's shoulder who screamed out in pain, blood erupting and running down her back. She wrenched them free, sidestepped a counter attack from the furious elf, and then kicked out her opponent's feet. The elf fell to the dirty tavern floor, groaning on the ground. Serana felt her chest tighten slightly as she watched the imperial fight, enraptured by her fluid movements. To the sire, the woman held the grace of a vampire, wild and savage in her attacks yet careful and collected as she dodged her opponent's. Burning eyes followed the platinum haired woman, sitting at the edge of her seat to see what would happen next.

The nord Dawnguard soldier didn't give Vex a chance to boast over her victory, ramming into the woman and sending her tumbling down into a smashed table. She hissed with a vengeance as she sprung forward, daggers poised at the nord who prepared for her attack. It was then that the Lioness kicked his legs out from behind, and he tumbled forward right into Vex's blades. Rather than try to force them through his thick armor however, the imperial had another idea, and slashed him across the face, a trail of red sailing through the air behind her blade. He fell to the ground, Vex dancing around his body, and then was promptly kicked in the ribs repeatedly. The breton roared at the duo, and Vex narrowed amber eyes at him, daring the man to try something when both his allies already lay on the ground. Mjoll took the opportunity to smash him upside the head, and he collapsed in an unconscious heap.

Rising back up, the dunmer shouted a few choice words before she rushed Mjoll, the nord gritting her teeth as she blocked a series of strikes. Backing up towards the mantle, the adventurer saw her opportunity as the dunmer gathered herself for another onslaught of attacks. With a shout of her own, Mjoll grasped a plate off a nearby table, scooped up the charcoal ember of the fire, and threw them in the elf's face. The shrieks she produced were quite horrendous, Yosa'Min cringing as she imagined how that would have felt, before the dunmer fell to the ground.

The patrons of the inn were along the walls of the building, mortified at the turn of events, the innkeeper, Corpulus Vinius, shouting profanities at them to stop. The guards would surely be arriving soon, and Vex and Mjoll doubted they'd be able to explain their story without getting thrown in jail first. The whole of the inn had been laid to waste, tables destroyed, food and drink scattered across the floor, with the trio of defeated warriors laying on the cobblestone floor. "Let's get out of here," said Vex, rushing towards the door, Mjoll tagging along silently.

Serana blinked, shocked, before glancing at Yosa'Min. "You weren't kidding about her skill with those blades," she said appraisingly, unable to hide her impress at the imperial. Yosa'Min gave a mute nod. The vampire almost wanted to give chase, to see where they would go, but that was a foolish notion. They also still needed to get the innkeeper to talk, and she was sure that he knew what they needed to know to find the moth priest from all the gossip that he had been spewing throughout the night. Seeing the only chance they'd had since their arrival at the inn, she moved towards the innkeeper. The entire tavern was still so caught up in the vicious fight that had just taken place to really notice the dark haired woman approaching Corpulus Vinius. She grasped him by the shoulder, the redheaded imperial turning to her with shock, and gave him a dark smile. "Hi," she purred, "I think you and I should go somewhere to talk don't you?"

He swallowed dryly, her words playing with his mind like a spell, "Uh, I suppose so..." he gulped.

"Of course you do," Serana smoothly replied, "and my friend is going to tag along too, is that alright?" Corpulus nodded his head. "Good... Good." She flicked a hand, and Yosa'Min moved swiftly to her side, slinking through shadows. The bar reeked of blood now, making it harder for the redguard to control herself, but she managed it well enough when Serana shot her a suspicious look. "Now then, how about we go down into your cellar hmm?" She ordered, and the mortal quickly showed her the way. They had vanished from view just as the guards came into the tavern, not a soul the wiser that they'd just charmed the poor man away.


Vex's lungs burned, the sound of the guards pursing them so loud in her ears she could hardly hear anything else. The duo went rushing past the caravan, past the farm, and even still out into the forest. The lumbering Lioness was right behind Vex, keeping up better than the imperial had thought she would considering the heavy armor she wore. Mjoll glanced over her shoulder, not spotting anyone just yet and hoping they had managed to garner a big enough lead. The imperial suddenly peeled off the path and into a snowbank that was right besides a cliff, rising higher than both of them. Grumbling under her breath about how Vex never told her what she was going to do, Mjoll followed, finding herself freezing as the snow surrounded her. She went to say something smart to Vex, but the woman clamped her hand over Mjoll's mouth, glaring intently for the Lioness to be quiet. A tense minute passed before the sound of heavy boots rushed past, and Mjoll understood why she had been silenced. They waited until the guards had gone further down the road before bursting from the snowbank that had concealed them.

"Is this what you're always doing?" Mjoll gasped, bewildered, staring at the imperial who's expressions had hardened into a cold mask.

"Usually I don't get caught, so no..."

The nord shook her head. "That was..." She hated to admit it, but it was almost fun to have those guards after them. The fear of being caught, their swift vengeance for the wrongdoing in the tavern, it was more exciting than she had imagined it would be. "Different," she managed to say, not admitting her true feelings because she knew exactly how Vex would react to it. She would never hear the end of it.

Shrugging, Vex settled her gaze on the nord. "I guess you're used to being the one doing the chasing right? It's certainly different on the other end." Mjoll quietly nodded her head. She narrowed her eyes at Mjoll. "I didn't ask for your help you know," she grumbled, "I could have handled them."

"Sure you could have," Mjoll slurred, "but we are working together aren't we? I can't just let you get into brawls without me."

"They were after me because of what I did," argued Vex, "They weren't wrong to be upset."

Glassy golden eyes looked up at Vex. "So? If anyone is gonna have the pleasure of beating your face in for your crimes it's gonna be me."

Rolling her eyes, Vex turned away. "Let's get moving. We need to hideout until the housecarls arrive, and my khajiit friends might be willing to hide us in the mean time." Stepping out from the snowbank, Vex put one hand on her hip and looked at Mjoll who was struggling with removing herself from the white substance. Sighing with a heavy shake of her head, Vex offered her other hand to the nord, and the Lioness accepted it with a fierce blush.

"How do you even know them?" Mjoll inquired as they began to slowly creep their way towards where the khajiit were camped up the road.

With a scowl, Vex looked over her shoulder at Mjoll. "Hush, we're still being hunted, they could hear you."

"Oh! Sorry, I'm not used to this," apologized Mjoll.

"Obviously..." grumbled back Vex. They were half way there when she could feel the nord trying her hardest not to question Vex once more. Instead, she was bubbling with little murmurs, her failed attempts at controlling herself and not asking the imperial. Considering Vex had noticed the number of empty tankards that had been besides the woman at the bar, and the night was certainly one she wouldn't mind forgetting with a haze of mead, she figured she was dealing with an at least slightly drunk Mjoll. With an exasperated and overdramatic sigh, she caved. "I recruited Athreo as a fence for the Guild when I was rebuilding it," she said, Mjoll brightening some, "She wasn't really up to it at first but I can be quite persuasive at times. Turns out, she's brilliant at the craft, and being a traveling caravan owner made it all the better."

Mjoll tilted her head a bit. "You're the Guildmaster now aren't you..."

Amber eyes met hazy golden ones, and Vex nodded her head. "Yes."

"So what happens if you die on this venture?"

Vex bristled with alarm, and turned entirely to the Lioness. It had sounded like an innocent question, not the threat she had expected with such words from the woman who loathed her nearly as much as she did her. "Brynjolf takes over," she said simply, "That or he and Karliah will choose a new leader. My death will not be the end of the Guild, if that's what you're wondering. So no, you can't just simply murder me and think you'll have but an end to the corruption in Riften at last. I'm just one rat in the sewers after all."

Bristling a bit, the nord retorted, "Believe it or not I wasn't even considering that. I know better. I was just wondering how much you were putting at risk and sacrificing for Yosa'Min... She must really mean a lot to you..."

"We've already been over this," grumbled Vex, starting back towards the caravan. Mjoll did not reply, and instead simply fell silent, lost in her thoughts as they at last reached the caravan. The khajiit were still awake, and Rifgy took but only a moment to spot and wave them over. Vex waved in return, and began towards him when she heard a pair of familiar voices. Looking back down the road, a smile dawned her face. "The housecarls, finally I'm not stuck with you anymore," she said to Mjoll who turned and looked as well. True to her word, Lydia and Iona were making their way up the snowy road towards Solitude. Relief filled Vex that they wouldn't be stuck waiting at all for the duo, and rushed to meet them. Mjoll stayed there at the top of the hill, a slight sway in her stance, and watched the imperial meet with the pair, greeting them with a surprising warmth, and then lead Lydia and Iona up to the caravan. She couldn't help but wonder just how badly Vex had hated working with her, because in truth, it hadn't been as horrible for Mjoll as she had thought it would. Certainly she could had done without all their constant bickering but for the most part after that first night, they hadn't argued about anything real big until they'd encountered Yosa'Min and that vampire. If anything, Vex had done nothing but surprise her. The imperial she had known before was no longer the one that lived, instead something far more curious had replaced her.

As Lydia and Iona reached her, Mjoll smirked. "Turns out I owe you a hundred septims," she admitted.

The housecarls shared a look before bursting into laughter. "So do we," Lydia said, "Looks like we have some stories to swap."

"Aye, I think so too."


AN: Look at that! Everybody made an appearance! We'll be actually getting on to the moth priest quest soon enough, not like I've been promising it since chapter twenty-three or anything... Anywho, thanks for reading as always, and I'd love to hear what you thought of the chapter.