Chapter Three is here, yeah it is. I'm taking time to do this, so I'm glad to see people who enjoy it. Also, thanks to Julio Navarrow for your helpful comments; less sometimes isn't more.

Disclaimer: I'm not gonna say it anymore; I have no ownership. Now leave me the heck alone.

It was a beautiful day in Imperial City. As the morning blossomed, people walked in the Marketplace, minding their own businesses. Like everyday in the city, rumors floated and coversations arose. Merchants might file complants, and/or compete to see which of their stores are the best. It was all nonsense and play in the streets of the city, but the only thing that made the place-to-be different were the likes of two people.

"So, he sent me a letter saying how he loved me..."

Ariel and Oriana were in the Marketplace, walking around and getting some excecise. Oriana had been chatting on and on about the man she slept with a couple of weeks ago, and her friend kept quiet most of the time, listening to the story. Though her various stories about anything were wacky, Ariel liked to hear what she had to say, being that her 'adventures' were just that- wacky. They had been talking for about two hours straight; Ariel soon realized that she needed to get started on her scheduled tasks, so she stopped in her tracks.

"Sorry to cut you off," she said. "But I do, in fact, have things that need to be done."

Remembering the tasks, Oriana agreed. "True. And here it is."

She pulled out a rolled piece of parchment from her sleeve, snickering mischeiveingly. Surprised, Ariel snatched it out of her hand.

"You sneak!" Ariel said, embarrased and ready to pass out. "Where did you find that?"

Oriana rolled her eyes. "Under your bedroll."

"You looked under my bedroll?"

"Well don't blame me, it was sticking out ever so slightly."

"I need to work on my stealth skills more often."

"You don't have to remind me," Oriana kidded. "What's so private about your affairs?"

Speaking to her, almost in a whisper, Ariel explained how she met up with someone yesterday, when she was walking to the university. Marion was gone by then, so she was by herself, but anyway it was this Imperial man who wanted to speak with her. He asked her if she knew of a group, named the Knights of the Thorn. Uneasy but oblivious to the whole situation, she answered yes. Just a yes. Believing he found out all he needed to know, he left, not even bothering to offer his name.

Oriana stood dumbfounded, having heard what her friend believed happened. "That's all?"

"That's all," Ariel confirmed.

The both stood there like stumps on a log, trying to understand what took place the day before. It was unbelievable to see that someone would say a few words, then leave as if it were just as important. The Knights of the Thorn, thought Ariel. I know of them, but who is in it? After spending a few minutes reflecting, Ariel came to a firm descicion.

"Someone wants to see me." she stated in a toneless voice.

"What about it?" asked Oriana, raising an eyebrow.

"It's so obvious," praised Ariel, begining to unravel the parchment. There was a letter written, and it read:

Hello, my dear Dunmer. You are so beautiful. I've seen you around the Imperial City and elsewhere, and I've deeply hailed your presence. It would be an honor if you could met me. The location is Cheydinhal, and look for a building called the Thorn Lodge. You will find me waiting there.

Farwil Idarys

Oriana, who was reading it alongside her friend, was quiet for a minute.

And then she burst into laughter.

"He wants you!"

Ariel wasn't smiling anymore. Her expression was distasteful, and even as Oriana found the whole thing humorous, she could not even give a sign of doubt. It was easy to handle the fact that she was dominant, determined. But to be told that she radiated in an astonishing amount of beauty-- unpredictable. No man bothered to ask her for his company, never really had a boyfriend, to tell the truth. So this was somewhat amazing to her, but she still didn't show it.

"Wow," Ariel said in fake cheerfulness. "In all my life, I never thought the first man who had to take a liking in me, sexually, was none other than the gitwit himself." She held the note tightly in her grasp. "How special I am."

"Don't be so silly," chuckled Oriana. "I will say though, you should feel proud of yourself."

Eyes wide open, Ariel stared at her. "Mmm?"

"I mean, Farwil... if he weren't your 'lover' to be, I might have fallen for him myself."

"What?"

The two were quiet again. They stared hard into each other's eyes; Ariel did not approve of her friends' opinion. Sometimes it was difficult to get the message of what was rubbed off on her, and turned out that Oriana never really understood what she would say herself. Like she ever even thought about that gitwit anyway, poor girl.

Conscious, Ariel felt confident again. "I'm going over there to see if I can sort this mess out."

"If that's what you choose to do, fine," her friend stated with arms crossed. "Because I'm not following."

"And I never asked if you could," Ariel smarted off.

"Good luck."

Oriana started to walk away, but before she could leave her presence, she looked over her shoulder.

"Oh, and by the way," she said. "The whole fall-in-love thing... that was a joke. Forgive me."

The last thing she saw was the passionate look on Ariel's face as she walked off, leaving her to ponder admist the working citizens and stone buildings.

T E S T I M O N I E S

Hours passed, and the day would be completely come to an end sooner or later. Today was a beautiful day, indeed, but there was one major setback that ruined all the fun. The heat. Maybe not hot enough, but the way Ariel walked through the trails -and in that long, green mage robe that conceiled her whole body- then it was scorching. Every step taken, she wished for a drink of water; could have brought some to carry with me, she thought. It would've been easier but... it didn't matter just yet. The walk from Imeprial City to Cheydinhal wasn't too far from distance, as she figured it would be. As she looked at the Cyrodil roadmap she carried, her mind was refreshed that it was less than a mile apart from each other. Not too bad. She still thirsted for a drink of water though.

During her little trip, she could hear near distant sounds of voices. It didn't sound like voices, but it was something oddly strange. Something familiar.

Curious, Ariel looked around her surroundings, still hearing the sounds but not finding anything. Then she peered out forward, tracking the sounds to be a few feet in front of her. As she stepped off the main road onto the green, grassy terrain, there was a small pond protected by a number of trees. Some flowers were bloomed near the pond, and butterflies fluttered in the spirit of everything. That was all very lovely, but Ariel still heard sounds, and was determined to find out what they were. Suddenly, there were vocals.

"Ariel.. my lovely girl..."

The voices of two people echoed around her mind; like an entity controlled the spot, as she thought. They continued to speak, changing from simple words to an array of chants, dialouge, emotions... anything. Everything - the pond, the nature, the birds - began to softly fade away as a shadowy haze surrounded Ariel until she could not stand it. Her expression turned fearful, figeting at the crudeness of the ghostly voices that crowded her subconscious deeper... and deeper. Unable to take it anymore, she closed her eyes tightly, hoping it would all soon disappear.

They did.

To her intent, she jumped as a horse strolled past her, taking its drink out of the pond. Fallen on the grass, she gasped roughly for a minute.

As Ariel caught her breath, a sound of footsteps were coming in closer and closer behind her, until a hand tapped its finger on her right shoulder.

"Are you standing up already?" the familiar, arrogant voice asked.

She knew that voice better than anyone else. Of course, it was Marion.

He stood there, arms crossed and dressed in leather armor (without the helmet and sheild), staring below him at his sister, who regained consciousness of reality. It was unusal to see him out-- at least dressed the way he was. Like he somehow gained an intrest in fighting, adventure, and all that in between. Soon after a thoughtful minute, Ariel turned her head to look up above.

"Huh... what?"

"Get up, Ariel."

As he lended a hand, Marion helped her up off the ground, still unaware of her reason for falling over like she did. She felt ill, rubbing on her forehead as if she just caught a terrific headache. Her heart pounded relentlessly, still in complete shock of the experience that just took place five or ten minutes ago, and Ariel was nearly close to tears.

"Are you alright?" he asked, cocking an eyebrow.

She nodded, restraining herself. "Yes, I'm fine."

But she was lying. Something happened to her, and one side demanded she tell the truth of what scared her to death, though it was so unexplainable and unreasonable, telling the truth was immpossible at this point. While she dusted off the backside of her robe, Marion rolled his eyes .

"Never mind," he gave in, pulling out a 5 inch rope.

"What are you doing here?"

"Excercising, of course," he responded, tying his hair into a ponytail. "I've been doing this since I was seventeen, my sister, so don't look so surprised."

"How come I was never aware of it?"

"Because you're not around when I'm around. Or did you forget?"

Ariel shrugged. "Oh, that's right."

Snickering, Marion walked past her over to his horse, who was still taking its drink out of the pond. A paint horse, the saddle resting on its back, and breathing in the clean, fresh air that blew softly. He had bought the animal a couple of weeks eariler, since he had saved up the gold to buy one and not have to stroll around on his feet any longer. Good idea that he got it so soon; the way Ariel thought of it, she didn't wan't to walk the rest of the way to Cheydinhal, even if she was somewhat close to the town. As Marion stroked the horses' skin, she opened out in a friendly matter.

"Hey, I need a ride somewhere... Cheydinhal, to be correct. Can you take me there?"

He glanced at her. "Well... ok." he agreed, ordering his horse up from the water. "What's the business?"

"Nothing important, but I guess I'll explain to you along the way, that is... if you don't pester me about it like Oriana did."

"I promise... whatever it is, I won't."

A/N: Oh my... this looks like the most I've written in the story. I needed to anyway, it's a suggestion I deeply took into heart. More chapters lke this will be included soon. And yeah, I had to get back to Marion; no reason for it to be about three Dunmers if I keep braggin' bout my two women. Girls rule... that's just the truth to me LOL. Stay tuned for more! Reviews are appreciated!