The light was blinding, but she pushed through the crowd anyway. Everyone gathered in the amphitheater around three of the An-Xileel, the leaders of Argonia. Archon was a large town and where some of the richest tribes in Argonia lived. The sea made it possible for trades other provinces considered exotic, and the ports were rich with exotic crafts from other provinces as well. It was the most diverse city, though for each non-Argonian that sold wares there was an Argonian standing beside them, translating into Jel whatever it was the sellers said. Most residents of the city were merchants, but some were travelers like Itan, and most of the travelers Aphina recognized as being friends of his once long ago. She chose to go nowhere near them, else risk them see her new condition and shun her.

The noise of the crowd died down as they started speaking. The speaker was a short, fat Argonian, with webbing along the top of his head. "We have gathered you here to ask for your help, the people of Argonia. As you know, our most major cities have fallen, Gideon and Stormhold, along with other smaller towns. Even Helstrom was taken." Aphina wasn't sure if it was a joke or if they were serious. The Naga would've protected Helstrom…or else they would tax every member of the army as they passed through.

The crowd erupted in panic whispers.

Nobody here knew of the battle that had taken place only weeks ago. For some reason it surprised Aphina, though she supposed nobody would've heard of the battle anyway.

"We know your fear. We have asked for the help of…the Tsaeci from Akavir with the blessing of our King." He spoke quickly before the crowd's roar could drown out his voice, "We need someone who can…take in our guests. Show them the ways of Argonia. It is a dangerous task. I understand your hesitation. Please, take your time."

"Interesting, isn't it?" A woman in a red hood said, seemingly to no one, but then she looked up at Aphina. She didn't look like any species she'd read about. She had fleshy skin, much like her, but her skin also had the appearance of scales, but it appeared more like an armor than part of her, like some illusion magic had been cast about her to give her the appearance of a lizard. She was tall, however, and slender, and her eyes were a bright green and almost cat-like.

"What's inetresting?" Aphina asked.

"That they'd call in outsiders when clearly you Argonians don't accept them at all. Just look at how the crowd is reacting."

Aphina chuckled. "Don't you know? They say the Tsaeci are vampires that eat men and mer. Of course they'll be a little anxious."

"And you?"

After a moment of silence, she asked, "Who are you, exactly?"

"Answer my question with a question, child of the marsh. Very well, I am called San."

"You are not Argonian…or Tamrielic, by your accent."

"Good eye…good eye indeed."

It wasn't her eyes, Aphina could hardly see beyond the blinding light or the hem of the hood she hid under. It was her smell. She smelled like stale seaweed and iron, and something else that smelled almost sweet and spicy at the same time. "You are…Tsaeci?"

"Yes. I am here on behalf of my master. He is sensitive to sunlight but wanted to make sure they were not going to defame him. What about you? You do not look like a lizard."

"Maybe, but I am Argonian nonetheless. Excuse me, I must be going." Aphina turned to leave, but the woman caught her by the arm. Aphina spun around. Her breathing stopped as her heart caught in her throat.

"You are at war with yourself, I can see it. I can see many things that others here cannot."

Would she actually say it aloud? If she did, a mob would surly hunt her and she would have no place to find sanctuary this time. "I have friends who live in the shadows, I must be getting back to them." She tore her arm away, and quickly pushed her way through the crowd, until it broke, and then she ran as quickly as she could back into the swamp, back into the shadows where she could finally see.

She'd never felt such fear grip at her chest since she had been killed…three times she had been killed, four if you counted being turned into a vampire, but she also lived. Her heart had stopped, but her soul was tethered to this body, to this life, and it was better than seeing what waited for her after. She'd become just another plaything for Molag Bal. Truly it was a terrible curse.

"Sweet child sweet child…no that's not right…um…" It was the voice of a little girl. Aphina followed it, staying in the shadows, and resting her black gloved hands on the trunk of a tree with a thick trunk. The little Argonian girl had everything: bones, skull, a knife, a heart, and Argonian flesh, candles lit the effigy in a warm glow, but she struggled still. "Sweet mother, sweet mother, yeah that's it. Um…"

Aphina said, "Did you have a nightshade?"

The Argonian girl stood and hide the knife behind her back.

Aphina stayed half hidden behind the tree.

"Do you…are you from the Dark Brotherhood?" The little girl's hands shook as she moved to clutch the knife close to her chest.

"No, child, I'm sorry to disappoint you. Didn't your mother teach you the black sacrament?"

She nodded and stared at her feet, "Yes but…she died…and I can't remember it! She only taught me a few times! Do-do you know it?"

Aphina nodded, "Did you rub your blade in nightshade?"

The little girl nodded.

"Repeat after me. Sweet mother, sweet mother, send your child unto me for the sins of the unworthy must be baptized in blood and fear." Aphina recited it eloquently, but she had trouble remembering it not so long ago, when fear clouded her mind. She could still feel the pain of her head when Ocato had-

No, he was gone and she had to forget. She had to forget, because she had Ja-Ree now to cloud her mind. She had to forget because she had Molag Bal whispering in her ear now. Yet, Ocato still invaded. She could never escape. It still felt like he was there, waiting for her in every shadow.

"That's it? Then what happens?"

Aphina smiled. "Well, it might take a while, so you have to keep praying every day. It takes a while for the Dark Brotherhood to travel."

The little girl smiled and stepped forward but Aphina stepped back. "Keep faith, they still hide in the shadows." With that, she turned and walked away. A part of her felt sorry for the child. A child shouldn't be thinking of the death of someone else, but a part of her also told her to not dwell on it because she had her own problems to worry about.

Of course, as she stopped to rest her feet and drink what little blood she had left, she heard Malog Bal's laughter. "Poor child," he mocked, "poor wretched child. That's what you're thinking anyway. Why don't we end her suffering?"

"No!" She yelled.

"No?"

Aphina turned. Behind the tree there was someone lurking, she could smell their scent on the wind. She hadn't heard the rush of blood, however, or the beating of a heart. Even now as the noise in her head quieted, she heard nothing but the water and the bugs that sang.

In the shadows she could see an Argonian hunched over, with what she assumed to be a heavy satchel and a familiar voice. "Aphina?" Sees-Many-Stars looked just as surprised as she was to see him.

"Sees-Many-Stars," Aphina breathed. "You scared me."

"And you startled me." He came closer, peering under her hood, and then his eyes softened and he took her hands in his. He clicked his tongue. "Oh, child," he breathed out.

Aphina took her hand away, as if it could somehow hide from him her condition.

"My child, what happened?"

"It's a long story." She said sheepishly.

He put his satchel on the ground and sat next to her, graceful as ever. When he moved nothing else did, but the bugs still buzzed around him. "We have an eternity," he joked.

Her mouth twitched in a smile, but it soon left her as she began the story. She watched around them, as if someone else were watching them. Perhaps someone was, but she didn't see or smell anything on the wind as it blew the leaves of the trees. The loose leaves rained down around them. Conveniently, she left out a few less important details, like the fact that her husband led the Dark Brotherhood, preferring instead to call them a village. She left out the fact that she even married. Whether he caught on that she was hiding something or not she couldn't tell. She finished her story and added, "Don't pity me, I'm fine. I've gotten along well enough so far."

Sees-Many-Stars still held pity in his milky-grey eyes, and he held her tightly like they were old friends. "I am so sorry, my dear, that this all happened to you and Itan. Neither of you deserve such a fate." He laid a hand on her cheek, and sighed. "The world doesn't deserve your kindness."

Aphina took his hands in hers. "I am fine, my friend, really. I have accepted my fate…"

Sees-Many-Stars sighed. "Where is it you are headed?"

"Back towards Helstrom."

Sees-Many-Stars flinched. "You mustn't, Aphina-"

"I've made up my mind and…I am sorry, you are not stopping me. I have friends in that area and I must see them to safety." What little light shown through the trees appeared to make the amethyst ring sparkle brightly. It caught his eyes, and behind them there was a hint of understanding.

"Then I hope you find your friends before the army does."

"They aren't caught so easily." She went to take another sip of the flagon of blood she carried, but found nothing. There was no way she could make it to Helstrom without more blood…or risk killing someone, or worse.

"You are empty," he chuckled and gave her a coin she'd never seen. It had Tamrielic writing and it was stamped with the Skyrim's draconic symbol. "Keep going northeast until you reach a river, then follow the river towards Helstrom. I have…family that will take care of you at an inn, and they can point you toward the next inn. They will fill your flagon with what you will need, just show them this coin, we use it to identify each other as nesting brothers, and give them my Argonian name, Tei-Jal."

"Tei-Jal? I thought you preferred your Tamrielic name."

Sees-Many-Stars nodded. "I do. These are my family, however, they have known me since I was a hatchling and they have been with me through everything." He put emphasis on the last word, and at first Aphina didn't understand what that meant, but she also didn't ask. "Take care of your blood supply, Aphina. If you go without for too long…you will lose yourself."

She nodded, her stomach sinking further and further into her feet. She had held a little hope that he would come with her, and travel with him. "Why are you going to Archon? What happened to your home?"

Sees-Many-Stars sighed, like the weight of the world was on his shoulders alone. "Thalmor have taken over halfway to Helstrom when I left. Helstrom…it's become a place of refugees now. If the crime was not bad when I got there then it was much worse when I left."

She should've known as much, she knew how much of Argonia the Thalmor had taken over, but maybe she didn't want to know. Maybe she would've preferred to stay naïve to the reality she now faced. There was a lot she wished she could stay so naive. The girl who entered Stormhold was long gone, and the girl who entered Stormhold suffered just as terribly, and now she was a girl still and she was not ready to see the dangers that awaited her now.

"I am so sorry, old friend." Aphina whispered. The sun was setting quickly.

"You know, you should be traveling at night instead. It will be less harsh on your newly acquired senses."

Aphina nodded, "Maybe, but you and I both know that for me the marsh harbors even deadlier animals than that water snake." With a sigh she kissed his cheek. "Thank you for everything. Take care of yourself." She did not want to leave him, but she also did not want to be away from Ja-Ree longer than she had to. Even if she couldn't step into the Dark Brotherhood's new sanctuary, she could at least request of Kal-Ma that he come out.