A/N: Just a heads up! As per usual, with NaNoWriMo coming up this month, I'll be putting TSD on hiatus until I finish my NaNo project. I'll see you guys in December!

Finding Aventus proved easy enough, with his letter arriving while Leola and the girls were gone. Just as the girls had discussed, he'd opted to wait for them in Solitude, and his letter said that with his business there finished, they could come meet him at any time. Naturally, such a letter meant that they should depart immediately, and so the horses were already prepared and packed by the time the girls got back. They'd barely had a chance to greet Ulfric and Bottar before they were being loaded on to horses.

They took time over the course of their ride to get caught up, telling the men about how things had gone with Azura. They were relieved that things had gone as well as they had, though they were unsurprised - Azura was known to be one of the kinder Daedric Princes, so they'd expected things to go well.

They rode for several hours straight, eating atop the horses from the bags they'd brought, but by the time they reached Morthal, the women were starting to ache. After riding to and from Azura's shrine in addition to the many hours they'd ridden now, they demanded to stop and rest the night, and so they did. They were greeted again by the flock of children who played in the streets, though this time, the young boys Trayvond and Shamar were accompanied by their mother. Naniena embraced Leola, and she offered her guest room to Leola and Erith, saying they'd be far more comfortable there than in the inn.

They were quick to accept, and so, the group parted ways for the night. Erith, with Leola's hand in hers, followed Naniena and the boys to their little house. Ulfric made his way to the Jarl's home for the night, while Shelur and Bottar headed for the inn.

In the morning, after thanking Naniena for letting them stay with her, Erith and Leola made their way to the inn to meet up with Shelur and Bottar. They expected Ulfric to meet them there, but after almost an hour of waiting, they grew worried.

"We should visit the Jarl and see if he's still there," said Erith in a soft voice, a frown on her lips. "I mean, we don't think about it enough, but he is the High King."

"And we all know what happened to the last one," Bottar added, and the group gave a collective nod.

They left some money on the surface of their table as the group rose to their feet, all heading to the door. It was still early in the morning, and the sun hung low on the horizon, painting the sky a soft blush tone. There were just a couple of kids playing tag together, presumably waiting for their friends to come out and join them. The group hurried towards Highmoon Hall, though, gently opening the doors and filing in.

"Jarl Sirgar," said Leola softly, approaching the Jarl on his throne.

"Princess Leola," he said, a smile on his face. "It's good to see you."

"And you too, Sir," she replied. "Do you know where my father is?"

The Jarl chuckled a bit, nodding. "Yes," he said. "I set him up in my guest room - he must have slept in, if you were expecting him sooner."

"May we go and check on him?" Erith asked, and the Jarl gave a quick nod.

"Certainly," he replied. "My home is your home."

While Shelur and Bottar waited behind in the main hall, Leola took Erith by the hand and the pair headed upstairs. Leola knocked gently on the door of the guest room, waiting quietly.

"Father?" she called in a gentle tone.

"King Ulfric?" asked Erith, and the girls exchanged a concerned look.

Leola pushed the door open and they stepped inside, and sure enough, Ulfric was lying in the bed. Leola went to him, pausing only briefly. "He's breathing," she said, looking at Erith. "He's alright, just asleep." She turned back to her father, gently shaking his shoulder. "Father, wake up," she said, but he remained asleep.

"I sense magic here," said Erith in a soft voice. Leola frowned, turning to her.

"What kind of magic?" she asked softly.

"Step aside, let me see," Erith replied, and Leola moved, letting her lover come forward. Erith held her hands up and a soft glow emanated from them, the colours shifting back and forth from a soft blue to a delicate violet. She rotated her hands and held them over Ulfric, the magic pulsing from her palms and coursing into Ulfric. She drew back after a moment, and soon, sure enough, the King's blue eyes fluttered open.

"Erith?" he murmured, putting his hand on his head. "Leola?"

"Do you know what happened?" asked Erith, frowning. "Your sleep was being influenced by magic, but it wasn't an actual spell intended to make you sleep."

"I don't remember," Ulfric replied quickly, shaking his head. "I do know that we're late, though - we should get going, it's not much longer to Solitude."

"Of course," Leola said quickly, exchanging a frown with Erith but pushing him no more. They headed back to the main hall while he dressed, softly telling Bottar and Shelur about what had just transpired, and then offering their thanks to the Jarl. Ulfric came out a minute or so later, also giving his thanks to the Jarl for the use of his guest room.

Within only minutes, the group was all back atop their horses and bound for Solitude. They rode mostly in an uncomfortable silence. Wordlessly, Erith and Leola had agreed that Ulfric wasn't telling them everything, but how could they make him tell them what he knew?

The ride was only a few hours longer, but soon, they had reached Solitude. His letter had said to ask after him at the Bard's College, so they made their way there. It made sense, after all - he couldn't really spend the night at Minette's inn, so he must have connections at the college.

They asked the first person they met, a Redguard who simply laughed and nodded.

"Yes, Aventus is staying here," he said with a nod. "He headed off to the palace earlier, though."

"The palace?" asked Leola, raising an eyebrow. "Why?"

The Redguard gave a shrug of his shoulders. "I don't know," he replied. "Just said that he was heading there and to keep an eye out for you lot."

"Thank you," Leola said. "I think we'll go and meet him there, then."

Bidding the man a quick farewell, they left the college and began towards the palace. They hadn't quite reached it when they saw Aventus leaving it, coming their way. The moment he spotted the group, a grin spread across his face, and Leola hurried forward.

"Aventus!" she said, throwing herself at him and gripping him in a tight embrace.

"Leola, it's good to see you," he said, holding her for a moment before drawing back. "I think that's the longest we've been apart since we met."

"I think you might be right," Leola said with a laugh as the others caught up behind them.

"What were you doing at the palace?" asked Erith, raising an eyebrow as she looked towards him. "If you're friendly with the Jarl you should have just stayed there, instead of at the college."

"I was already staying at the college," Aventus replied. "If I'd been offered a room at the palace I'd have accepted, but it wasn't offered, so I remained at the college. Shall we be on our way?"

"After we have some lunch," Bottar interjected quickly, grinning. "I'm starving."

"As am I," Shelur piped up, and Ulfric nodded.

"Fair enough," he replied. "Then we'll eat, first."

"There's good food in the market," Aventus said, smiling.

"Ah, yes, you've been without tavern food this whole time, haven't you?" Ulfric asked, clapping a hand down on Aventus's shoulder. "Did Elisif at least invite you for dinner, if you're friendly?"

"No, Sir," Aventus said, shaking his head. "It's nothing to worry about, though."

Ulfric raised an eyebrow somewhat, but nodded. "Well, let's go and eat, then," he said, and all in agreement, the group began towards the market for a bite to eat.