Epilogue

"We were too late," said Emily, staring up at the night sky. They climbed to their feet and turned back to face the portal. They stood, staring at where the portal had been mere seconds before. There was nothing to mark where it had been. Emily's shoulders slumped, her hand slackening on the shoulder strap of the rucksack until it dropped to the ground with a clang. A hand rested gently on her shoulder. It was a gesture she did not expect. She'd expected her to be angry. She'd just robbed her of her own world.

"I'm sorry," said Emily, turning slowly to face the vampiress.

"For what? "she asked. The question caught Emily completely off guard.

"Serana," she said, "We can't return to Tamriel. Ever. I don't have the power to reopen the portal, repeat what happened in Norway, anything!" She put her face in her hands, drawing a ragged breath.

"I know," Serana replied quietly and when Emily looked up she saw the vampiress was smiling.

"I don't understand," said Emily.

"What don't you understand?" Serana asked gently.

"I thought you'd be upset, angry." Emily felt as though Serana somehow didn't fully comprehend their predicament. "Serana, I can't get you home."

"I know, "said Serana, "Don't you think I weighed up that possibility when we came here?" She cupped Emily's chin, tilting her head up so their eyes met. "Wherever you are, that's home. I learnt that a long time ago." Emily laughed in spite of herself.

"That's so cheesy," she chuckled.

Serana smiled as she leaned forward, closing the distance between them. Emily reached up, her arms falling across Serana's shoulders, her fingers catching in her cloak as she smiled into the kiss. The mountain wind gambolled about them. She was dimly aware of a silvery light falling across them as Serana's lips caressed hers. The wind picked up and mixed with it was a faint roar. The roar rose in volume and they drew apart, blinking into the blinding light.

"Not interruptin' anything, am I?"

Leaning out of the window of a battered old taxi was the Daedric prince of madness himself. It was then that they realised that the taxi was hovering just over the edge of the precipice, wavering slightly as it was buffeted by the mountain wind.

"Sheogorath, are we ever glad to see you," said Emily in disbelief. Sheogorath laughed.

"Wouldn't be needing a lift back to Tamriel, would you?" he asked. Without waiting for an answer he motioned and the back doors of the flying car flew open. "Hop in."

They climbed into the back seat of the battered old taxi. It rumbled beneath their feet and Emily strapped herself in. You never really knew what would happen with a Daedric Prince of Madness behind the wheel after all. The taxi drew away from the cliff, swaying slightly in mid-air. It was then that Emily noticed the meter on the dashboard seemed to have been converted from pounds and pence into septims and the numbers were steadily rising. Sheogorath noticed her gaze.

"What?" he asked, "A Daedra's got to earn a living after all. Just sit back and we'll be back in Tamriel in no time. Literally." Emily began to search through her pockets and when the Daedric Prince noticed he added, "Don't worry, you can owe me the fare if you don't have it on you." He laughed again and Emily wasn't sure if he was joking or not.

"Where did you get the car?" she asked.

"From a fella sitting outside a tavern burning one of those sticks in his mouth," Sheogorath replied, "Now that I think about it, I don't think he was too happy with my taking it. So I made a few modifications. Honestly, I think I improved on the design."

Emily sank back in the seat and she found Serana's hand, squeezing her fingers gently. In response she moved a little nearer, resting her head against hers.

"Long trip?" Sheogorath asked.

"Not half," Emily replied. The car was rapidly picking up speed and Emily felt the G-forces pushing her and Serana back into the seat. Lights rushed by them at incredible speeds and the world below became a racing blur. Then a myriad colours burst in front of them and engulfed them on all sides. They seemed to strike the car like physical objects and the car rattled, rolling from side to side. At one point the car turned upside down before abruptly right itself and white glimmering dust spewed out from the wheels as it grazed against the streams of colour. Then they were in space. At least, it looked to Emily like space. Vast, endless, dark with pinpricks of light that could have been stars. She found she was floating up from the seat and Serana's cloak billowed about her.

"We're almost there," said Sheogorath, "Hold onto your seats, ladies." Then the car was speeding off again and Emily and Serana were thrown back into the seat. Another surge of light and they found themselves speeding past familiar sights. They soared under the stone archway of Solitude, the slipstream of the car causing the boats to sway in their moorings. They flew up over the plains and saw the twinkling lights of Whiterun below them. Then they plunged southwards into the forests. Trees seemed to leap out of the way and branches slapped against the windscreen, turning it into a spiderweb of cracks. The car rolled to one side as a roar filled the air.

"Oh, it looks like this is your stop," smiled Sheogorath, leaning over the back of the seat and looking out the rear windscreen where the ragged winged shape of a dragon was flapping down towards the city of Falkreath. Then the doors were flung open and the car rolled to one side. Emily found she was no longer strapped in and both she and Serana were sliding toward the open door.

"Don't worry," grinned Sheogorath, "Forget the fare. See you around." They left the edge of the seat and plummeted down towards the houses. Emily let out a yell as the thatch roofing of the tavern came up to meet them. They crashed through, tumbling through the layers of thatching and falling between the beams straight onto one of the tables, knocking platters and tankards off the table which spilled their contents onto the floor. They looked into the bewildered faces of the two Nords who had been sitting at the table. One of them dropped his tankard, spilling mead into his lap but he didn't take it under his notice.

"Sorry for dropping in on you like this," Emily said as she scrambled off the table and helped Serana to her feet, "Come on Serana, I think we'd better take care of that dragon." Serana smiled, pulling her bow from her back as they both hurried out into the night. Yes, it was good to be home.