Akiseta was greeted by several smiles as she walked into the city of Riften. Everyone who saw her waved at her.

"Akiseta! What brings you by?" Marise asked.

"Just paying a little visit." Akiseta said, coming over. There was something different about the Dunmer's scent. "How goes the business?"

"Fine as always. Would you care for anything?"

"Let me see. I think I'll take a couple pheasant breasts, and five carrots."

Marise wrapped up the pheasant breasts and carrots in cloths, and handed them to Akiseta, who gave Marise the proper amount of coin.

"So, how are things between you and Shadr?" Akiseta asked, putting the food into her bag.

"Simply wonderful, more so then ever. I just recently found out we're going to be having a little one on the way."

"Really?" 'So that's why her scent is slightly off.' "That's wonderful news, Marise. I'm happy for the both of you."

"Thank you, my friend. Our little one is going to know you're responsible for making his or her home a safe place."

"I didn't do much, really. I just did what had to be done."

"Always so humble. See you around, Akiseta."

Akiseta waved as she walked off. After waving over at Brand-Shei and Balimund, she stopped to see Madesi, who greeted her with a bright grin.

"Good to see you again, marsh-friend. Everything faring well?"

"Yes it is. Can the same be said for you?"

"Of course. Things have never been better. Where is that lovely landstrider mate of yours?"

"Back home with Lucia. That reminds me. I want your opinion on something." Akiseta pulled out the ring, and handed it to Madesi. "What do you think of this?"

"It's absolutely perfect, Akiseta. I don't think I've ever seen a ring so perfect before."

"Coming from a proper Saxhleel jeweler, that means a great deal."

"I mean it, Akiseta. It's beautiful. I hope the one I will make for Svana one day will be just as lovely." He said, handing the ring back.

"I'm certain it will be, Madesi." Akiseta slid the ring into her pocket. "How is Svana, by the way?"

"Very well. She runs the Bunkhouse far better than Haelga ever did. The way that woman let her customers act, and treat Svana..." Madesi scowled, before shaking his head. "You'll have to come by for a proper visit sometime."

"I plan to, marsh-friend."

Akiseta made her way into Mistveil Keep. Jarl Laila sat at her throne, S'azda at her side. The two were discussing some city related matter, but paused when they saw Akiseta.

"Greetings, Akiseta." Laila said, rising in greeting. "I hope the trip fared well."

"It did indeed, Jarl Laila." Akiseta said, dipping her head in the proper respect gesture. "I hate to cut greetings short, but may I inquire to what you wanted to see me about?"

"Of course. If you'll give me a moment." Laila turned to S'azda. "Should anyone ask for me, please tell them I'm having council with my Thane."

"Of course, my Jarl." The Khajiit said.

S'azda was a fine example of one of the accomplishments Akiseta was most proud of. After she'd made a name for herself in Skyrim as Dragonborn, Harbinger, and Arch-Mage, she'd worked out an agreement with most Jarls, minus Ulfric and Skald, to let the Khajiit into cities and towns, and let them become citizens if they wished. While the caravans kept to their trading, they did take shelter inside the cites and towns at night. And many Khajiit travelers had moved into cities and towns.

S'azda was one such Khajiit. If not for her black stripes, she'd look much like the Sabre Cats that live in the colder parts of Skyrim. Akiseta had met the Khajiit while traveling. S'azda had a lot of political understanding, and many other qualifications that made her a perfect steward for Laila.

Laila turned back to Akiseta. "If you'd join me my chambers, please."

Akiseta followed Laila up the steps to her room. At Laila's insistence, she took a seat in one of the chairs near the fire place. A moment later, Laila set a couple cups down on the table, and poured theilul into both.

"First off, Akiseta, I truly wish to thank you for all you've done, for both my citizens, and me."

"You don't have to thank me, Laila." Akiset took a drink, enjoying the the taste of the theilul. She hadn't had it in quite a while. 'I'll need to see if Brand-Shei has any of this on hand.'

"Yes, I do. You cleared out all the corruption in this city. Several of my guards, the Theives' Guild, Maven, Hemming, and Sibbi, and Anuriel." Laila sighed. "I was so foolish.."

"Don't be so hard on yourself, Laila. The war was taking up a lot of your attention. Maven used that to her advantage."

"Well, I'm glad her and her sons are rotting in Oblivion with that treacherous steward and the rest of the Thieves' Guild."

Rooting out the corruption in Riften had been a hard task. It ran deep in the city's veins. Anuriel's part in it had shocked Akiseta a great deal. Maven had dug her claws in a long way with how things ran in the city. Akiseta agreed with how Laila felt about them all rotting in Oblivion.

"I'm just glad they can't harass the citizens anymore. If I may speak openly now. Your letter concerned me greatly. What has come up?"

"A few days before I wrote that letter, the Khajiit caravan came into town on one of their visits. They had an injured man with them, a Stormcloak soldier. He was covered in burns."

"Burns?" Akiseta asked, a bit of unease welling in her stomach.

"Yes. They were quite severe. The priests at the temple were able to heal him for the most part, but he's scarred pretty bad. He's entirely blind in one eye, and we had to amputate one of his arms. His breathing is quite labored, and he can't talk without coughing fits. The priests have been keeping him alive, but Maramal says he doesn't have much more time."

"That's awful." Akiseta said. Memories of the destruction at Helgen surfaced in her mind. So many burned people...

"After he came to, we moved him to a cot in the storeroom here in the keep."

"Why?"

Laila shifted around uncomfortably. "He was with other soldiers when he was attacked. He was the only survivor. After some questioning about the attack, he revealed that him and the others had crossed through Whiterun territory."

Akiseta stiffened, the feathers on her head bristling. "They did?"

As part of the ultimatum she gave Ulfric and Tulius, soldiers from both sides were forbidden from crossing through or into Whiterun's territory. For Stormcloaks to have crossed through, that would mean the deal had been broken.

"Yes. Apparently, they were attempting to move from Eastmarch to Falkreath."

Akiseta let out a hiss, lashing her tail. "Damn Ulfric! After what I said at High Hrothgar, that thuxis has the nerve!" She slammed her hand against the table, scraping her claws along the wood.

"Akiseta, please. Try to contain yourself." Laila said, trying to calm her. "I know you're upset, and you have every right. But, it gets much worse than that."

"How could it get worse!?" Akiseta asked, unable to keep her voice from rising.

Laila bit her lip. "It's the reason we moved him here. When he began to talk about the attack, well... I didn't want what he was saying to reach the citizens."

"What was he saying?"

"He claims they were attacked by a dragon."

Akiseta followed Laila to the storeroom, which was lit by torches. The injured Nord lay on a cot, groaning in clear pain. He was covered by a blanket, but the parts of him that were visible were practically charred. The residual smell of burning flesh clung to him. The sight made Akiseta feel sick, and guilty.

He turned his head, his good eye looking around frantically. "Who's there?"

"Jarl Laila, soldier. And the Dragonborn."

The soldier turned as much as he could, looking at Akiseta. "Why bring her? What good is she to me or my brothers and sisters in arms now?" He coughed several times.

"I was told about what happened." Akiseta said, going closer. "Tell me in your own words."

"Why do you care?" The man wheezed. "All soldiers were told what would happen if we crossed Whiterun's borders. Why not kill me already?"

"It would be a mercy to you, in your case. Since you're the only survivor, you're the only one who can tell me what happened. So talk."

The man sighed. "We were crossing through Whiterun, keeping along the edges of the border to avoid being spotted. We were close to the Whiterun-Rift border, when a dragon attacked. It was terrifying. Covered in red and black scales, huge curled horns Blunt tail, small spikes on it and its back. Snatched up Eissi before she knew what hit."

The man coughed violently. "And the fire, gods, the fire... bright, intense. It burned like the sun itself."

He sat up suddenly, grabbing Akiseta with his hand. "You said we were safe! You said the dragons weren't a problem anymore! You said the crisis was over!" He coughed again.

"And what I said holds true." Akiseta said, laying him back down. "I assure you I will make this dragon incident my full priority. But this does not change the fact that Ulfric broke our deal."

The man glared at Akiseta. "The true High King is not afraid of you, lizard! You're a disgrace to the honor of Dragonborn! When Ulfric finally wins this war, you'll be lucky if-"

The man began coughing much more violently, his whole body shaking and heaving with fits.

Akiseta pressed her hands to his chest, channeling her magicka into her strongest healing spell. The golden light surrounded his charred skin. His convulsions finally settled. He lay flat against the cot, unconscious, breathing unevenly.

Akiseta backed away from him, panting hard. "I don't think he has more than the rest of the day, if that."

"I'll have Maramal let Alessandra know." Laila said. "Thank you for easing his pain."

"No point it letting him suffer."

"Akiseta, I know that you have to deal with this matter with Ulfric, and you know I'll stand by you with whatever you have to do. But I need you to be honest with me. Is this the start of another crisis with the dragons?"

"No, I don't believe so. The dragons recognize me as the strongest of their kind. Whatever this was, it had to have been an isolated incident. I will search for this dragon, and put this matter to rest. You have no reason to worry, Laila."

"Thank you for the reassurance, my friend." Laila said, embracing Akiseta. Akiseta returned the gesture, ignoring the guilt starting to bite at her.

She gave a friendly nod to S'azda as she left the keep. She breathed in the fresh outside air, ridding her lungs of the scent of charred flesh.

She took the ring from her pocket, looking at the shimmer of the gold and amethysts. Things had seemed so simple a couple days ago. She'd woken up with the plan to ask Serana to be her mate in proper.

Now, she was getting dragged back into the war. Ulfric broke his end of the deal. And she had to deal with it. She knew she'd done what she had to back at High Hrothgar, but having to make good on her threat was going to be... complicated.

And then, there was the matter of the dragon attack. That was even more complicated in some ways.

Serana sat cross-legged in the grass, her hood up to shield herself from the sun. Kit laid beside her, chewing on a dandelion.

"Hey, I told you no." Serana said, pulling the chewed up plant from the fox's mouth. Kit just gave her a grin.

"Those make you sick, ice-brain." Lucia scolded the fox, who ignored her and rolled over on her back.

Lucia rolled her eyes, and went back to what she'd been doing. Closing her eyes, she held up her hand, palm up. After a moment, a faint shimmer glowed in between her fingers.

"That's good, Lucia. Just focus." Serana encouraged quietly. They were just outside of Whiterun, in their usual spot for magic lessons.

More concentration came to Lucia's face, and after a bit, a small ball of magical light shimmered in her palm.

Lucia smiled proudly. "This one is bigger than the last one!"

"Yes it is. Well done, Lucia."

A strong sense of pride filled Serana's chest. She wondered if this is how her own mother felt when teaching her magic.

Lucia let the ball of light fade away. "I can't wait to show Mama."

"She'll be so proud of you, Lucia. Would you like to try frost magic again?"

Lucia frowned. "That's hard. I'm not sure I can do it. I read the tome over and over."

"I know, Lucia. But magic isn't just about reading scrolls and understanding tomes. It requires a lot of mental focus. You have to conceive it in your mind first, and then feel it inside you."

"I know that, and I keep trying. It never works."

"So you try again."

Lucia settled onto her knees, and held her hand over the grass. She focused her eyes on the ground, biting her lip. The faintest coat of frost started to cover the blades, before dissipating.

Lucia sighed in frustration. "See? I can't do it."

"Give me your hand for a moment." Serana said, taking Lucia's hand. "Tell me what you feel."

"Your skin is cold."

"Right. Now, when focusing on the spell, try and feel that cold inside you. Feel it extending from you to the grass, like the cold from my hand extending to yours."

Lucia nodded. She held her hand over the grass, and concentrated, closing her eyes. A small bit of frost began to coat the grass.

"That's it, Lucia. Keep it up."

Lucia's hand shook at little, and small beads of sweat dotted her forehead. But she kept trying to cast the spell. Soon enough, a small coat of frost covered several of the blades.

Lucia sat back it the grass and looked at the frost, panting. "I.. I did it!"

Serana smiled. "I knew you could."

Lucia grinned, and threw her arms around the vampire. Serana hugged her tightly.

Being a mother was something that had taken getting Serana a little getting used to. Her own mother had always seen her more like a protege, which had never really bothered Serana. They'd always gotten along like the best of friends, until the prophecy came along.

Serana loved her mother dearly, but she didn't want to follow her parental footsteps. She wanted to be a good mother, like Akiseta was.

"Oh, the coolest thing happened earlier today." Lucia said. "I was at Jorrvaskr, and Aunt Lydia let me hold Ysmnwulf. I made a funny face, and he laughed. It was so cute."

"Sounds cute. He is adorable."

Lydia and Farkas' child was about four months old. He grabbed pretty much anything within his reach, often pulling on his parents or Lucia's hair, or Akiseta's horns when ever her head got close enough to him. Serana made sure her hair was always just out of his reach when she held him.

Footsteps and a familiar scent caught Serana's attention, and she and Lucia stood up as Aela approached.

"Doing a magic lesson?" Aela asked.

Lucia nodded. "Uh huh. I was able to make some frost!"

Aela smiled. "That's wonderful, Lucia. Listen, would you mind going back into the city? I need to talk with Serana about something."

"About what?"

"It's really more of an adult conversation, Lucia. Please just go back inside."

Lucia sighed. "Fine. Come on, Kit."

Serana watched Lucia and Kit head up the pathway and to the city gate, then looked over at Aela. "So, what do you need to talk to me about that you can't say in front of Lucia?"

"We have a bit of a problem. I just got back from my job over in Rorikstead. I came across something, something you need to see."

Serana raised an eyebrow. "You brought it with you?"

"Yes. Follow me and you'll see why."

Serana followed Aela around the outside of Whiterun and towards an alcove inside the large hillside the city rested on. As they neared it, an unknown mortal scent came to Serana.

Reaching the alcove, Serana couldn't believe what she saw. Tied to a large barrel was an Imperial soldier.

Theilul: Argonian sugar-cane wine

A/N: The dragon mentioned in this chapter is a reference to the Diverse Dragons mod. This specific dragon is a Hallowed dragon, which basically breathes sun fire, which is plausible, given Akatosh is the father of dragons. The Diverse Dragons mod adds in a bunch of amazing, powerful dragons to be alongside the vanilla ones. I feel the mod captures the true power the dragons were lored to have, and I think the modded dragons fit well into the world.