Resh POV

Right from the word go Resh had decided the city he wanted was Markarth. It was obvious that Solitude and Windhelm were out of the question due to being the capitals of each faction, but he was sure Markarth would be okay. Especially seeing as the current government there was pathetic and it was clear the main controllers of the city were the Silver Bloods.

That wasn't the only reason he wanted it though, not just because it was one of the 'left overs' that could go without someone caring. The Reach itself had a massive potential when it came to wealth, the resources were all there when regarding silver, iron, and numerous other ores, and the city itself was very well built with good infrastructure.

Fair enough a lot of the useful and precious metals were found in areas belonging to Orcs and their strongholds. But Resh was sure he wouldn't have as much trouble working something out with them as the current authority who treated them like dirt so didn't trade. Unlike the families currently in charge he thought every Tamrielic race was equally inferior to him, and as there were not enough Tsaesci around to fill the city he was going to have to settle for filling it with all these races. With any luck they would each bring their own talents, Orcs were meant to be excellent craftsmen and forgers too.

To be honest there were tonnes of things he could do with the province that spanned far past mining and trade with Orcs. Namely the Sky Haven Temple that would be a good embassy for his people if any more came over, but also the Dwemer ruins under the city, were they to be cleared out the city would be greatly expanded and even more wealthy. No doubt the other holds were pathetic compared to Markarth.

There would be some friction regarding the local mining companies when they realised he was going to pretty much monopolise and greatly restrict their power and income rather than knuckle under and take it like the current Jarl, but his diplomatic immunity and Thalmor connections would help him with that. He would happily kill them if they tried to control him, it would be better anyway if he was in charge, the workers would lead much better lives getting a fair share, Resh wasn't a slave owner.

Resh figured his biggest problem with the Reach was the Forsworn, an unfortunate truth was that even with him in charge the terrorist cell of Breton savages would far outnumber his guards, so he was going to have to find a way to sort that out. But for now he was content with his plans, the Reach would no doubt be an excellent foothold in Tamriel, if not for war, then trading and diplomatic relations, and it contained a lot of ancient ruins and architecture which Resh personally liked.

It wouldn't be long before he got what he wanted either, without needing to sleep, and slithering as fast as he could in his true form it only took about four days to get to High Hrothgar and send the word to the Empire, Stormcloaks and Thalmor that the Greybeards wanted a peace conference. He knew it would take at least a week for them to arrive, but he wanted to get to the College quickly, it was only about five weeks until the birth, and each day it got closer he realised he wanted to make amends. Not to be romantic, as at the moment Lydia no longer appealed to him that way, but to at least dissipate hostilities, and perhaps talk to Brelyna seriously now he had calmed down.

His lateness because of the conference rather than heading straight there wasn't going to be an issue anyway, being away an extra week wasn't going to make any difference.

Resh POV (Seven Days Later)

As expected the first to arrive were the Empire, over the years Resh had learnt that they were nothing if not efficient, probably why they own most of the continent, and are likely the most powerful faction, even if they did form the White-Gold Concordat which made them out to be weak.

They were followed shortly by the Stormcloaks, savage and belligerent they may be it was clear Ulfric was all about appearances, despite him and his second in commanding dressing in furs, like unorganised brutes. Clearly they wanted to look fearsome, but all it did was make him chuckle, on of the first things he did in Skyrim was snap the neck of a sabre cat with his hands, so a few furs didn't intimidate him, or likely anyone.

What seemed strange though was Elenwen's arrival, he expected her to arrive with her own group of Agents, but instead she turned up with the Empire instead of representing her own faction. Resh didn't think much of it though, knowing it didn't really matter, although the Altmer looked extremely worried, she was trying to cover it up but Resh could see, and wondered what it was distracting her so much.

He would have spoken up about the issue, but quickly remembered the context of the situation, and how inappropriate and unprofessional it would have been. Besides, he would have been interrupted anyway by Arngeir who started the meeting when everyone formed on either side of the table, himself and Resh on each side of the long end.

"So, you've done it. The men of violence are gathered here, in these halls whose very stones are dedicated to peace. They may put their weapons down for a moment, but only to gather strength for the next bloodletting. They are not yet tired of war. Far from it. Do you know the ancient Nord word for war? 'Season unending'... so it has proved," he went on, Resh could have groaned, he was getting very impatient with the whole situation, and that was before it had even started, let alone now the old Greybeard was wittering on.

He wasn't the only one who was annoyed as half the table rolled their eyes, the only ones excluded were Elenwen and Ulfric, the former because she knew how to act in polite company like a noble, and the latter because Arngeir was once a teacher of his, so he needed to act with respect.

Either he didn't notice, or didn't care, but he continued. "Now that everyone is here, please take your seats so we can begin. I hope that we have all come here in the spirit of-"

Only now had Ulfric noticed the Emissary of the Thalmor, and he glared at her with hatred, interrupting the Greybeard immediately. "No. You insult us by bringing her to this negotiation? Your chief Talos-hunter?"

It seemed everyone was fed up by his statement, sighing and grumbling to themselves at the barbarians predictability. Elenwen stuck up for herself though, not standing by his nonsense. "I have every right to be at this negotiation. I need to ensure that nothing is agreed here that would violate the terms of the White-Gold Concordat."

Even Tullius backed her up, he looked reluctant to, but it was good to know he was on their side, especially as he would likely be meeting him more often. "She's part of the Imperial delegation. You can't dictate who I bring to this council."

"Please. If we have to negotiate the terms of the negotiation, we will never get anywhere. Perhaps this would be a good time to get the Dra- Resh's input on this matter," Arngeir suggest to the group before they could argue again.

"Thank you," he ground out, not liking the Greybeard almost slipping and calling him by the name he hated so much. "Now, as I get to decide, I say Elenwen stays," he saw Ulfric about to argue, but quickly went on. "It would be a lie for me to say Thalmor presence won't bother anyone, but I decide, so you just need to deal with it."

He didn't look happy, but the Nordic Jarl finally sat down, before mumbling. "I didn't believe you were really so deep in that Thalmor bitches pocket. I heard rumours you were her little pet man-slave but I thought better of you."

"Bear in mind Ulfric that you know enough about me that you know it won't be wise to piss me off, I am more than happy to track you down once you leave, so I wouldn't insult me if I were you," Resh growled in anger, everyone in the room noticed the change in tone, and were slightly apprehensive about what would happen, waiting to see what happened.

Ulfric merely stared back, unwavering. "I don't fear you. I know you wouldn't do anything, too 'dishonourable'. Elenwen can stay, but she is to observe, nothing more. We are not negotiating with her, is that clear?"

"No, it's not clear. I think Elenwen has every right to negotiate too," the Tsaesci told him, noting the quickly growing frustration and disgust, kept going before he could speak. "Don't worry, it won't be about the Thalmor, she'll be my spokesperson, for the group I stand for."

It was now Tullius's time to get irritated now. "What are you talking about? there are no other groups, how can you need a spokesperson? If I am being kept in the dark about something I deserve to know!"

"No need to get wound up Tullius," Elenwen told him coolly. "Our friend Resh here represents a group of… people, and feels that in exchange for his, extremely needed, help in the war, and with sorting out the Dragons he should be given a Hold of his choosing."

"I'm not even considering letting him have anything, let alone an entire Hold if I don't know who he represents," Tullius argued. "I came here for a truce between me and Ulfric, not any random who wants to have his own city and thinks he can have it because he's the Dragonborn."

"Well, he's being funded by my faction, so for all intents and purposes consider his authority that of the highest Thalmor members, if not higher. Again though, I remind you he's not one of u-"

"He's a Tsaesci, a race from one of the other continents, and feels his kind you should have his own part of this one if he helps you," Ulfric cut in frustrated, tired of Elenwen's incessant talking. "Of course fucking our Ambassador over here has got him a lot of power in the Thalmor and Empire circles, now are we going to decide something? as long as the Hold doesn't belong to the Thalmor, but just him instead I don't mind, but only if it is taken out of the Empire's half of Holds."

"Thank you Ulfric for that heap of nonsense. But I actually want to know the truth of the situation, not just whatever shit you're spouting so I get one less Hold," the General muttered, turning to Elenwen for an answer, who looked even more agitated than he did.

She glanced over to Resh, who nodded and told him, "It's true, I'd rather it had not been told in such a careless way, but he knows what he is talking about. And personally I think those are good terms, think of the diplomatic benefits you would have with his kind if you let him. Plus, he'll be fighting with us, so either way it's the same as it would be if you owned it yourself."

Surprisingly Ulfric didn't speak up, amazingly, he was content with the situation, maybe he had a plan, or knew something everyone else didn't, but he didn't raise his voice, unlike Tullius. "Call me a skeptic, but I don't believe any of this, how do I know any of this is true, he could be lying to you all even if you all do genuinely believe him."

Elenwen smirked. "Resh, change for me will you? I don't think I've ever seen you as yourself."

He didn't know why, but there seemed to be some 'connotations' behind those words that implied more. He wondered if she knew just how big he would be, and that it wouldn't be possible for them to be together in their current form. Regardless he quickly pulled off his armour, much to the shock of everyone. He glanced at them, "What do you expect? I'm not going to ruin all my armour just to prove a point."

Once all the covering was gone Resh surveyed the room, which had suddenly gotten very awkward. He grinned before changing, he loved the effect he had on people while doing it, his massive size coupled with brilliant golden scales really made him a sight to behold, even among his own kind, about two and a half times the length of the average Nord so he had to wrap his tail around the chair so he could stay at the same level as them. His lengthy tail made up about half of his size, so his normal standing height was more or less equal to that of when he was a Nord in disguise too, if not slightly larger.

There was silence for a few moments as they all stared, even those actually expecting this transformation were stunned, he really was something else, and he loved it. This was all the more proof of his superiority over the other races, they weren't nearly as marvelous as he. It would take only an instant for him to kill them all and they knew it.

"So…" he started, breaking the silence, and interrupting the various eyes roaming around his unique form, some such as Elenwen, Elisif, and even Galmar staring more intently than others. "Let's get started. I'll take Markarth, I have big plans for it…"

Some would have said Resh couldn't have got any more vain than he already was before, but obviously they hadn't been around when he had the most important people in Skyrim admiring his clear superiority over them. There was no way his ego could get any bigger after this, he felt like a god among insects, and to be honest, he kind of was.

Brelyna POV

For a moment Brelyna thought the intruder was Ancano, it seemed likely seeing as that Thalmor bastard had a habit of checking up on people, but she couldn't see his face, so Brelyna should've been more alert. Instead though she sat reading, about to tell the Thalmor to 'fuck off', it didn't really bode well considering the immediate paralysis spell thrown her way, keeping her pinned to the bed she sat on.

She should have seen this coming, it was inevitable really. Of course the Thalmor would come for her, she knew compromising information about them, although it wasn't like she could say anything to her assailant, the paralysis' immediate effects prevented her from doing so.

Brelyna hoped the assassin didn't know what they were doing, but unfortunately those fevered dreams were dashed when the Agent immediately cut to the chase. The tone was one of pride and confidence, becoming clear this wasn't their first important kill.

"You know what this is?" the Thalmor asked, shaking a small vial of red liquid in the face of the paralysed Dunmer. "Tsaesci venom. I bought it a few months ago, very expensive. Back then I had no idea how it got into Skyrim, especially given the price I payed for it, but I guess the mystery is gone now, once Elenwen informed me that there were not just one, but two, Tsaesci's here it became apparent how it got on the market, obviously one of our favourite snakes had a cash flow issu-"

"Why the fuck are you telling me this?" the Dark Elf grunted, barely able to speak due to the spell. "You could just stab me and get this over with instead of revealing your whole plan."

"Forgive me for having showmanship rather than acting like a brute," the Agent muttered. "Now, if you let me continue that would be great. Okay with that?"

Brelyna begrudgingly looked up and forced a nod, deciding it was best to have as much time alive as possible.

"Good, now, as I was saying. I'm not going to use the entire potion, that would be a waste, but you could only imagine how pleased I was finding out I was being sent to kill one of the two Tsaesci's and her lover. I finally had an opportunity to use it for something, and in a fitting way too," the Assassin went on, Brelyna doubted they'd have even realised if she wasn't there with the way they were announcing it. "I have several ways to do this now. I could play it off as a lovers spat, or a sex mistake to name the best two I've come up with."

The Dunmer could feel the spell wearing off slightly, but tried to hide it as she subtly flexed her muscles to get the blood moving again. "What about Kayci though? I can only assume that you're trying to do this without arising much suspicion, like an accident. You'll never manage it!"

"You're so naive Brelyna, I'm the best the Thalmor has to offer regarding assassinations, I'll play it off as a suicide as she'll be so distraught about what she's done. Winterhold is fairly high above the coast, a drop like that could definitely kill a Tsaesci," The Thalmor explained.

Brelyna was almost free, she could feel it now, she just needed a few more seconds, and the Thalmor would get the roasting off a life time, letting them talk really had been a good idea, it seemed their downfall would be their own hubris. "Now as I made it clear, I take pride in my own work, I like to be efficient and have no problems. So don't insult me by having the delusion I am a fool," the Agent said, casting another paralysis, ceasing her movements again so she remained stiff.

Pulling out a knife they stepped closer, brushing it close, I think I'll make it look like a sex incident, more believable. Brelyna couldn't quite see the knife, but felt to pricks in her neck, obviously to simulate a shallow accidental bite wound. "I'm not going to use much, barely a drop to be honest, it will kill you slower, but I don't want to waste money. Plus it will look much more suspicious if I use a lot, when an accident like this happens it's not like she would keep her teeth in you and continue pumping venom."

Were she able to make a sound Brelyna would have screamed at the feeling of the mildly damp fingers brush the wounds, the contact wasn't bad, but the stinging pain was. "I'm going to go find Kayci now, I don't think I really need to stay for this. You'll quickly lose ability to use your limbs, so even without my spells you won't be going anywhere, and I doubt it will be long until you die. If it helps I'll try and keep it painless for Kayci."

If she could protest she would have shouted at him in anger to stop him, but alas, lying back in this bed, watching the robed Altmer leave she couldn't do anything, just wait for the poison to kill her as it burned away at her blood.

Kayci POV

She knew Brelyna was only trying to look after her feelings and take care of her, but things were just getting frustrating now. It just didn't need to be done, Kayci was over 400 years old and wasn't still a child, some like Resh would argue she acted like one, and wasn't as knowledgeable, but she didn't need to be coddled.

What had happened to her, she had to admit, was pretty bad, but it was almost a century ago now, and Kayci couldn't let it affect her to this day. Yet Brelyna seemed to be obsessed with ensuring she was okay every hour of every day. First suggesting that she stay in the Midden, then pretty much censoring everything she said so as not to bring back painful memories really wasn't helping, if anything making it worse.

Kayci wished she hadn't let Brelyna know, then everything would have been how it was, and they could remain a happy little couple ignorant of the past. The Tsaesci knew it was probably wrong to think this, but even denial, which she now firmly knew she had been in, was better than having her lover walk on eggshells around her.

If Resh did the same thing when he found out she was going to be really pissed off and upset, chances are though he'd be angry as Oblivion more than anything, so that would be a fitting emotion, so long as he didn't treat her differently that is.

Her biggest issue with Brelyna's new way of acting around her wasn't the idiotic suggestions about a more comfortable area to live, or keeping check on what she says, but the lack of sex. Kayci didn't like to be impatient with something like that, especially given the sort of sex life they had, but she still wanted it. But she just knew Brelyna was going to try and avoid doing anything in case it 'triggered' something.

Brelyna just needed to understand she was fine, Kayci was no stranger to pain, so she didn't understand why this was apparently worse than anything else, like the Dragon flames. Fair enough it had also been a psychologically damaging situation to have all power taken away, but it was nothing she couldn't handle.

Maybe she had to take the more dominant role this time to show what she meant, maybe then Brelyna would get the picture. Even injured Kayci would easily overpower most people, bar her own kind, but that was none of her concern for the moment. Brelyna would probably like the switch around too.

Currently she was sitting at the counter to the local inn, trying to keep Lydia from drinking, Kayci didn't know much about human gestation, but was pretty sure that wasn't a good thing. With any luck Resh's pretty great characteristics would cancel out anything wrong that happened due to the alcohol. She would still rather not take the chance though.

Fortunately though Lydia's weird human bump thing was showing quite a lot. So the tavern owner was refusing to give her drinks, and feeling bad about the ones he had already given in the months prior, saving her a lot of trouble. All Lydia seemed to spend her time doing now was sleeping, which was good Kayci supposed, rest was likely a good thing for her.

Getting up off the chair she was sitting Kayci decided that she wanted Brelyna as soon as possible, all this waiting around wasn't worth it. There may have been a blizzard outside, but walking through it on a broken bridge wouldn't even be on the top ten stupidest things things she would do, and have done, for sex.

Considering that the College was the only successful part of Winterhold Kayci wouldn't guessed they would have made its entrance a lot safer. She was being careful by holding the ledge, or what was left of it, but Kayci was certain that even on a good day someone could fall off if they tried sprinting down it.

Without warning Kayci found herself falling, it was strange though, she hadn't tripped, or slipped, but just collapsed. Nothing had hit her either, not even the blizzard had pushed her over, just a blinding flash, and she was on the floor, close to the edge too. Even stranger still was that she couldn't get up, she was almost fused stiff.

"Kayci, is it?" she heard a voice emerge from the fog, most likely the source of the sudden paralysis.

"Yeah," she managed, irritated slightly she was talking while nose down on the floor. "Are you going somewhere with this or are you just being annoying by using spells in the fog?"

"I was hired by the Thalmor to make sure that a few mouths were silenced, I need to make it look like it wasn't us. So you, dear Kayci, are going to be jumping off this here bridge in a fit of distraught after killing you lover. How does that sound?" the voice told her, she could practically hear the smarminess seeping from the tone.

"What makes you think I would do anything like that?" Kayci asked, knowing she would never think about hurting Brelyna, let alone kill her.

The Agents face fell. "It's a shame that of the two of your kind one of them is a complete idiot…"

Kayci frowned, not liking his attitude. "Resh isn't that bad, he can be a bit hypocritical, but he doesn't realise he's doing it, you can hardl-"

"I'm talking about you," the assassin snapped, before composing themself again. "I have already rubbed a small amount of Tsaesci venom I bought the other week into a bite mark on Brelyna's neck. So we can consider her already killed, and for the purpose of my cover, by you. Now, in such a situation you would be devastated, is it working?"

The Agent couldn't quite see, but it was, the Tsaesci was having to hold back tears when she thought about Brelyna already being dead, she just had to hang onto the hopes that the Agent wasn't telling the truth, because Brelyna was too tough to die. This assassin must have been lying to her, and after sniffing a bit, Kayci decided it was her place to lie too.

"You didn't touch the poison did you?" Kayci said through held back sobs, desperately trying to push against whatever magic was in place, her strength seeming to help her break it quicker.

"Yes… I had to while I administered it, why?" the Thalmor spoke slowly, mildly worried at where they could preemptively see this conversation going.

Kayci smirked, having to try hard not to break down at the untrue thought of her girlfriends death, so as not to be 'see-through'. "It soaks through pores…"

The assassin glared at her in terror now. "What?!"

"Let's just say I'm glad if we die you do too," she laughed, coughing slightly as the magic constricted her abilities too laugh.

Reaching down and grabbing her clothing the Thalmor lifted her up, squeezing her as hard as possible, which to the Tsaesci, even permanently injured was fairly weak. "Tell me there's a cure, there has to be! I'll let you live, I won't even go after the third one of you."

Holding in a look of disgust at the Thalmor plans to kill even Lydia and the baby, Kayci whispered, "There is one…"

"Tell me or I'll throw you off right now! I can't die now, I have a family!" the Agent yelled.

Kayci was almost saddened, at those words, it would make the next few seconds a lot more difficult as she regained use of her body. "There is only one cure that straight away comes to mind…" she didn't give any time to respond as she clamped onto the hands that gripped her, and crushed down upon the wrists. Eliciting a hiss from her victim.

"You're not going to like it though," she muttered as she threw the assassin from the bridge. Kayci didn't even look twice at the falling body before running to her room, that had been too close, she hated to imagine what had happened to Brelyna. She doubted Brelyna would've had the opportunity she did to distract him…