The inn was lively. The inn keeper was more than welcoming, despite both her race, once she gave the name of Tei-Jal and showed them the coin he had given her. "Any friend of my brothers is a friend of mine." He declared. Aphina's room was grander than any inn would've ever given her. It had a private bath that was quickly filled by the maids with hot water, not that she felt any of the heat as she sank into it.

Still, the water seemed to rejuvenate her. By the time she joined the fray, hiding beneath her hood, the inn had swelled with guests who were drinking and eating and dancing and sang with drunken joy. Men gambled in an open corner of the room and in another corner courtesans seduced soldiers. Aphina chose a dark corner where she was served ale almost before she could sit at the table. The woman who served her looked just like Sees-Many-Stars. "A specialty," she winked and sauntered back to the bar.

The ale had a sweet aftertaste that filled her stomach. They must've taken notice immediately…if they had who else had noticed? It made her stomach queasy to think about and so she pushed the thought away and watched everyone. There were more than Argonians here as well. The soldier's uniform was made of plated steel, which was painted white and red, and their helmets, which rested on the tables while they ate, looked like a modern version of the armor the stories which described Tsaeci. They were from Akavir. They looked like Argonians, however. They had tails and scales, they walked on two legs rather than slithering across the ground like the stories made them out to do. For every Akavir with scales there were two more with pink flesh, looking more like an Imperial. At one end of the table was a drunk Argonian Aphina recognized as an An-Xileel named Wanum. It didn't appear they could get anyone to volunteer to play explorer in their place, a fact that made Aphina chuckle darkly.

Wanum was a small and skinny Argonian, coming from the Bright-Throat tribe based on the bright red scales around his throat and chest. He looked uncomfortable, opening him up to mocking by the soldiers who surrounded him. She couldn't quite hear what was going on, but they pressured him to drink more and soon he laughed with them, though he still looked uncomfortable with sitting with outsiders.

Sitting among them was a man with his arms crossed. He looked Argonian too, but his companion in the red hood looked like an Imperial woman. His eyes met Aphina's briefly. Her breath caught in her throat. His eyes weren't like that of any Argonian she knew. They were a deep brown with a gold ring around the pupil. The gaze felt like it would suffocate her, like it was pushing her down.

Finally, he broke his stare and leaned over to his companion, who had been laughing wildly at a story or a joke. Aphina drowned herself in her ale until her head became light and she waved over the maid that brought her the drink. "Thank you," she smiled.

The bar maid smiled and laid her hand over Aphina's. "There aren't many of us out there. We must help one another. I hope you will take note of our kindness and help when called." She squeezed Aphina's hand, it was a threat.

Aphina squeezed her hand just as tightly. "Your kindness will be noted, but do not presume I will come running like a pet." She shook her hand away and pulled out the flagon from her satchel. "I was also told you could fill this? I can always pay you if it's too much trouble."

The bar maid waved her hand, like she would wave an annoying fly, and snatched the flagon. "No trouble at all." She walked away. The woman in the red hood soon replaced her. The scent was familiar from the crowd in Archon.

"You are the woman from the crowd." The woman's hood was down now. Aphina could see she looked like someone from Cyrodiil from her pale skin to her brown hair.

Aphina didn't answer.

The woman gestured to the man at the table. "My master would like to dance."

"Thanks but I don't dance." The bar maid walked back, exchanging the empty cup for the flagon, which Aphina quickly threw in her satchel and stood.

When the bar maid walked away, the woman said quickly, "It is not a request, marshling."

"Excuse me?" Aphina folded her arms.

"My master makes no request. If he wants to dance he will dance and he wants to dance with you, so he will dance with you."

Aphina pushed past the woman. "That's not how this works." Aphina could feel the woman just steps behind her as she climbed the stairs.

"My master will not take this answer lightly."

"I'm not sure how it works in Akavir, but you are in Argonia and here if a woman refuses she will not hesitate to kill him if he tries to force her." Aphina walked faster. She had her slim fingers around the handle when the red woman stepped in her way.

"My master will get his dance…whether you want it or not."

Aphina sighed. "Really? Your master would threaten a lonely drunk woman?" The woman didn't move. "Very well. One song, one dance, and I come back to my room."

She nodded and bowed. "He will be most pleased." With that she ran, taking small steps as she went. Aphina watched from the balcony as she told her master. He looked neither pleased or displeased. His face was stoic, even when Aphina reached the last step. The red woman came over again. "My master requests that you take off your cape, miss."

"No," Aphina snapped. "I don't know how things are in Akavir, but in Tamriel, even here in Argonia, we do not take kindly to those of my condition, and being an Altmer is even more of an insult. He can either have a dance or he can visit me in my room and then I will take off my cape, but he cannot have both."

The woman sighed and walked back. Aphina watched his face, which didn't change with the answer. He looked at her, nodded, and stood. When he walked it was like he commanded that the room watch him. Every eye was on him, even the musicians watched as they played their tune. He extended out a hand, which she took, and allowed him to lead her to the throng of drunken dancers.

The man stood two heads taller than her and a head taller than even Rasha! He was broad and didn't wear armor, but he wore a white cloth that felt soft. He must've changed shortly after arriving at the inn because it wasn't stained with mud from the marshes.

If Aphina closed her eyes, could she imagine she was dancing with Ja-Ree? No, because unlike Ja-Ree he had no pulse. He had no blood coursing through him. "You're a vampire?" Aphina questioned as they spun.

The man leaned down, and he said, "I do not question your condition, so do not question mine." It sounded like he was hissing, not unlike the snakes that roamed the marshlands. It sounded harsh and gutteral.

"Fine," she hissed. "I will ask, why did you even want to dance with me? I'm not interesting in the least."

He smirked, it looked cold on his face. He said, "You are not like any of the lizards here. My thrall says you are an elf. You also threatened her, I hear. Then, you have the gall to stare at me from your seat where everyone else avoids my eye."

"And your point?"

"You are more interesting than you think. Might I…get a name?"

"You first, snake."

He chuckled darkly. "You do not know who I am, do you?"

The song ended, and the two bowed. Aphina turned to walk to the stairs and gladly leave it all behind but he grabbed her arm and pulled her to him. "One more dance, my dear, and then I will leave you be."

"That wasn't the deal," she hissed through her teeth.

A couple of the soldiers behind him shifted to stand, but the man held up a hand to them. "One dance." Without waiting for compliance, he took her hand and with his other hand he put it on her waist, and spun her once again.

Aphina sighed and dug her nails into his hand.

"My name is Itsyni." The harder she dug in her nails the closer he held her until there was no breathing room left.

"Aphina," she breathed out and her hand relaxed. She had barely pierced the flesh under his scales. The soldiers became uneasy again.

"Aphina," he repeated. "I shall remember it, truly."

"Nobody's asking you to. I'm sure my husband would rather you didn't." She missed a step, tripped over his feet, but despite her stumble he held onto her rather tightly. It reminded her of how Ocato held onto her. It was possessive, like she could be stolen so easily by anyone. It sucked the air from the space around them and she couldn't breathe, not that she needed to now anyway.

"I do not see this husband of yours. Is he your friend in the shadows?"

Aphina stared at him, unable to answer. Her tongue drowned in her suddenly dry mouth. He whispered in her ear, "You think you can threaten me the same way, don't you? Ah, but you are wiser than that. You don't know if your shadow friends can come save you, is that right?" His hand squeezed hers until she winced. She dug her nails into his shoulder. "Little girl, I am the shadow, even your Dark Brotherhood will have a difficult time killing me. Be careful who you threaten…I will just as easily pull back my army and that will be bad for your Argonia."

The song ended, but he never let go.

"Enjoying yourself? You've had your fun, now I must get back to my room." Aphina growled.

He let her go and bowed. Aphina stared down at him. "You must bow back. It is only respectable."

Aphina bowed low, never taking her eyes off of him, a smirk playing on her lips. He frowned. He knew she was mocking him. When she straightened up she turned and started up the stairs. Her hand hurt and her nails felt wet with the little blood that she had extracted from his hand. She locked the door with shaking hands. She wanted the outsiders gone, but then she feared Argonia's army alone would fail in driving back the Thalmor. It made her sick to think that Argonia was...weak. They were a weak nation, with a weak government under a weak King, if the king lived at all. It made her sick that the moment reminded her of Ocato. Ocato, the monster that turned her into a monster, and now she felt disconnected from the world of the living.

She wretched the ale out the window, and when she was done she sat on the floor, but as much as she wanted to cry it wouldn't come. Instead, Aphina shivered on the floor.

By the time the moon was in its highest seat she had drawn the curtains closed and laid on the bed. The pillows were soft and it came around her head like it was trying to suck her in. The bed itself didn't feel as hard as the ground or in her father's old cart when she was a child. It was more lavish and soft than even the beds the abandoned Dark Brotherhood hideouts held near Gideon.

Aphina closed her eyes for what felt like a moment before the darkness swallowed the sun again..