A/N: Feelings! I have changed my mind about what to do with Aldis completely while writing this chapter. Total change of pace from the last two chapters…

Aldis IV

The Dragon Cult seemed like it had been in hiding all these centuries, not dead. The fear of dragons must have persuaded many people to flock to the old ruins and high places of Skyrim.

For our part, Sybille and I played our roles the best we could. We had known each other for years and I knew much of her. She knew more on me than I thought she would. We were shown to a room that held only a single bed. We shared our bed together, and soon I was no longer freakishly uncomfortable changing clothes together. I even began to find myself attracted to her. It became an everyday struggle to hide my arousal in the mornings.

Damn the fact that she was cold to the touch. I woke up many nights holding her in my arms. I would find her laying on my chest. I didn't know vampires needed to sleep.

The people of the ruin were none the wiser that my "wife" was a vampire or that neither of us were true worshippers of the dragons.

It felt sacrilegious to kneel and pray facing the dragon priest while he chanted in the odd language. We soon found out it was the Dragon Tongue he spoke in, if he used it the right way he would shout this room apart with his voice. A young Imperial couple were the reason we found out. One day the husband had enough of the rituals and spoke out against the priest. He was shouted from his platform and flew like a ragdoll across the room. His head struck the cave wall and he moved no more. I know not what they did with his body, but his young wife was soon brought up to alter and sacrificed in front of the crowd. Her death was cheered on by the crowd.

"Mob mentality?" I asked Sybille when we returned to our room.

"Nay, I think they are afraid. If they meet the death of other worshippers with applause rather than fear then maybe they won't get taken next. At least that's what I am gathering from these people." Her reply struck me as odd. We were together constantly, every waking moment was spent together.

"How would you know these things?" I was really confused.

"Please Matthias, I don't sleep the way you do." She laughed. Her use of my first name was still something unfamiliar to me. My mother was the only person who still called me that.

"So when I am asleep you sneak off and what interrogate people?" I threw my hands up in frustration. I never could get a straight answer from her.

"I have to drink sometime!" She yelled back. "Before you say anything I am not drinking these young naïve farmers dry! I drink from the guards and when they are in their stupor I ask them certain questions."

"Their stupor?"

"Well, you see. It is intimate when they are awake. I normally drink from those who are asleep, but when I need them to talk I wake them first. It is like pillow talk. It's an orgasmic feeling and they share everything. In the morning they remember nothing and feel like they have a crick in their neck." I felt oddly jealous. Orgasmic? Intimacy? I sleep next to this woman. Damn her. Damn me. What is going on in my head?

"Well…. Hm." I cleared my throat, struggling to find words.

Seeing my awkwardness she rose to eye level. "Matthias, when you wake to find me embracing you and you think I am asleep I have really just crawled back into bed with you. I feel safe, I can charm most mortals but am powerless against the undead that prowl here in our sleep. When I fall back into our bed I feel safe. I am somewhere that if those undead burst into the room I know you will defend me." I felt her body draw closer to mine as she wrapped her arms around me. Our bed? The thought of sharing a bed with her made me think thoughts I wish my body did not respond to. She felt my body respond to her and leaned up.

"Careful, now soldier." She whispered into my ear and I shuddered.

I brought her head away from my ear and kissed her. It was soft at first, like I was seeking her permission. Then our lips came crashing into each other.

We woke the next morning with our robes thrown onto the floor and our limbs thrown all over each other. I woke before her and felt that she was deep asleep.

"Damn, I have not slept like that for decades." She shook her messy hair our over my chest and I could not help but laugh at her.

"Glad to see you are awake." I smiled down at her. When she turned to look at me I met her with a kiss.

"I had hoped you were asleep and would not have heard that." I saw her pale cheeks draw a little bit of color. Was she embarrassed?

"Honestly I was half afraid the entire night you would bite a big chunk out of my neck in the middle of all that." I laughed.

"Then I wouldn't advise you to forget that I can do that. Piss me off and I will make you wish that I had done that." She smiled back. Divines help me.

I was in too deep.

"Well we need to get up and start the day. I doubt that dick would be understanding if we missed morning worship all because we were sleeping together." I grabbed our robes out of the floor by the bed and handed it to her. We got dressed and got back to work.

Whatever last night was left me with a thought. Even in the hell of this civil war or this cult not everything was so wrong. There was always something to make things better.