Izra stepped out of the Thalmor Embassy through a disgusting, dark cave, and it felt like walking out of a memory. She shuddered, wrapping her cloak tightly around herself, and began the trudge back to Solitude with Malborn trailing behind. She had given him enough gold to get a carriage to the border, and he was no longer her problem. She walked into her feet were numb, and when she got to the inn, she tossed a coin purse on the counter and went upstairs. Her room was open; as Sorex had promised it would be. She curled inwards on herself, collapsing on the bed in her armor.

The bar was busy, and Sorex shot a desperate look at his father. "Go to her," the man said, "I can handle the customers." Sorex nearly ran up the stairs. Her door was unlocked, and sank down onto the bed next to her. "Izra? What's wrong?" he asked. "Can...Can you just stay with me tonight?" she asked, swallowing heavily. Sorex nodded, moving to close the door. Izra forced herself to stand up and remove her armor. She was shivering as she crawled back onto the bed, leaving the armor crumpled on the floor. Sorex crawled into the bed next to her, and wrapped her in his arms. Soon, she began to drift.

A young Bosmeri girl, sixteen years old, runs after a human boy much taller. She laughs, reaching out to him. "Varen, you know I can't keep up!" she says, and the boy stops. He turns to face her, his eyes laughing as he pulls her closer, swinging her through the air before putting her back on the ground. "I'd never leave you, Izra," he says, and the girl smiles.

A few years later, when she is twenty, she sinks a knife into his stomach and doesn't look back. Izra starts running. She is in a forest now, older, and the trees are black and dead around her. She skids to a stop as she sees someone leaning against the base of a tree. "Varen?" she says, her voice thick. She reaches up and wipes blood of her face. She isn't sure when she got hurt. "The one and only. Why'd you do it, Izra? I thought you loved me. You didn't even check to see if I survived," he says. Izra reaches out to him again, but she can't quite touch him. "I do love you, Varen. But I had to get out. I couldn't stay there my entire life," she whispers brokenly, and then he disappears, and so does the forest.

She is in a dungeon, now, strapped to a rack. She has been stretched the extreme, and she is dirty and sore, but she is so angry. "Why does a little whore thief think she can best the Aldmeri Dominion?" demands an Altmer standing over her. Izra turns her head away and does not answer. A knife descends on her flesh, and the dungeon disappears again.

She is not sure where she is. It is dark and empty. Is this the Void? she wonders. Then she sees Varen once more. "You could have done so much better, Izra. I loved you. You were becoming a blacksmith. We could have had a life together," he says. Izra turns away bitterly. "No, Varen, we couldn't have. I trusted you, and you betrayed that trust. I attacked you in self-defense," she says. "You made that dagger for me," Varen remarks. Izra turns back to face him. Daggers, it seemed, were the only gifts she could give. What did that say about her? "And I left it with you, didn't I?" she says, her voice suddenly full of icy venom, and then he is gone again, spinning away from her.

There is another girl standing with her in the Void, her face in her hands as her shoulders shake with sobs. Izra reaches out a hand, placing it on the girl's shoulder. "I'm sorry, Lisbet. I should have helped you," she says, and the girl turns to her, blood leaking out of her mouth. "At least you didn't end up like me," the girl rasped, and coughed. Blood sprayed Izra's face, and then she was running again. She had a stolen satchel clutched tightly to her chest full of food. Tonight, they will feast. When she returns to the broken-down shack they had made their home in, Varen is waiting for her. "I'm dreadfully sorry about this," he says, and then a knife is in Lisbet's throat and Varen is moving towards her with another one. She drops the food and pulls a dagger out of her boot. She sinks it into his stomach, and jerks awake.

Sorex is awake before she comes into awareness, stroking her hair. Izra drags in a deep, shuddering breath, and buries her face in his chest. "What's wrong?" he asks. She is filled with a deep, primal fear and only Sorex can make it go away. She let out a whimper. The ghosts of the past crawl over her skin and she shudders. "I need you. I...I need you to block out the nightmares," she says, desperately. Sorex opens his mouth to ask what he needs her to do, and then her mouth is on his. He can almost taste the desperation on her lips as she climbs on top of him, her fingers threading through his hair almost painfully. She breaks off the kiss to drag a ragged breath in, and he stops her. It would have been so easy to give into her, and gods, he wanted this, but it was wrong. Something was wrong with Izra, and he couldn't bring himself to do this. He had to talk to her, had to figure it out so he could help. "Izra, what's wrong?" he asks again, panting. She shakes her head. "Please, Sorex, I need you. I need you to remind me that I'm here, now, with you, please," she begs, and Sorex relents, kissing down her throat and running his fingers down her back. She breathes him in, and her heart calms down. She leans down to kiss him again, dragging his lips away from her collarbone and meeting them with her own, and this time it is softer and less desperate. "I'm better now," she mumbles, and Sorex breaks the kiss. Her heart calms in her chest. She lets out a heavy breath, curling herself against his chest. Her eyes burned with tears. She was so grateful for Sorex. He'd chased away the ghosts.

"Izra, what happened?" he asks, slowly, deliberately. "I had nightmares," she whispers, "about why I left Cyrodil." Sorex circles his arms around her. "Do you want to talk about it?" he asks, his eyes shining in the candlelight. Izra almost does. "Not...not now, I think," she whispers. Sorex nods, pulling her closer. "Can we...take a bath?" she asks, and Sorex nods, a faint smile on his face. She slides off of his lap and he swings his legs off the bed. It is nearly midnight, and Izra is grateful as he fills a tub full of hot water.

"Do you want me to join you?" he asks, and there is only a desire to comfort her in his eyes. Izra is touched. She nods, slipping into the hot water after removing her underclothes, and Sorex sits in front of her in the water. She relaxes against the edge of the tub, her legs tangled with his. "I'm sorry," she whispers, her head hanging down. "Don't be, Iz," he says, reaching out to cup her face. Izra smiles weakly as the dog puts her front paws on the edge of the tub and stands.

They sleep late the next morning, and Izra has no more nightmares. Downstairs, Sorex's father smiles to himself as he cleans the bar alone.