As the initial wonder of taking her first breath as a human was just beginning to wear off, a warm golden light suddenly spilled over the marsh. I raised a hand to the sun so I could watch my girlfriend's reaction to the first light of day.

Some of the perpetual fog burned off, becoming an enhancer for the sunlight to turn the hazy landscape into an almost surreal place of life and light. A heron cried in the distance, its harsh squawk soon answered by the smoother hooting of the tundra swans we had passed.

Serana turned her face into the sunshine, closing her eyes blissfully.

"It's warm," she breathed, almost to herself. Then, more excitedly, "It doesn't hurt anymore!"

Serana reached up and slid her hood back, letting the sunlight turn her brunette hair into strands of polished bronze. She held still for just a moment longer, then with a cry of joy ripped the hood off and threw it off into the mists. I heard the sound of the heavy fabric landing with a splat in the mud, and the protesting plops of several disturbed frogs as they dove for safety into the water.

My girlfriend threw her arms into the air and whooped, then seized my hands and spun us around in an impromptu dance. We were soon both laughing with the sheer joy of standing in the first rays of dawn.

Smiling, I stepped closer to her and gently cupped her face in my hands. The paleness was gone, replaced by a healthy flush of pink in her cheeks. Her eyes, once dark amber and beautifully exotic, were now the crystal clear blue of a tropical ocean. They were beautiful and bright and alive in ways that overshadowed the color they had been before.

Serana smiled at me, then slid her arms around my waist and leaned into me with a deep, happy sigh. "We need to thank Falion for this."

"I agree." I slid my arms around her, feeling the warmth of her now-living body through her clothes. "But what would we get a conjurer of his caliber?"

Serana paused, deep in thought, then grinned; "I know how to enchant jewelry. What if we fortify his conjuration magic? It might be nice to get him an amulet or ring to wear while doing the more complicated spells."

I nodded my approval, "I like the idea, though Morthal doesn't have a blacksmith."

Serana straightened, reaching automatically for the hood before pausing as she remembered that it was gone. Her eyes flashed with an idea.

"So," I teased with a smile, "what grand adventure shall we go on next?"

Serana didn't even hesitate, "Let's go shopping in Solitude! I feel a deep need for a whole new wardrobe!"

.

The Radiant Raiment was owned and operated by Taarie and Endarie, two Altmer sisters. The door clicked gently closed behind us, and we found ourselves spectators to a spat between the two.

Taarie was holding up a dress; "Sister dear, could you try sewing those sleeves a little tighter? We can't have our customers looking sloppy because of your work."

Endarie sneered, plucking the garment from Taarie's hands, "Oh certainly, dear sister. We couldn't afford to have our customers look like the simple pigs they are, now could we?"

I felt my expression twist to distaste and gave Serana a look that clearly expressed my doubts about spending any of our septims here.

Taarie apparently spotted the movement, because she grimaced and sniped back, "Good. And while you're at it, perhaps you should sew your mouth shut when our fine customers are within earshot, hmm?"

"Oh, what a delight. Another charming customer… Let me just drop everything to help them. I don't mind. Really." Endarie clearly had no intention of trying to salvage our opinions.

"That won't be necessary," Taarie's words were stiff. She then turned and nodded to us, "Why, hello! Here to buy?"

"We were considering it," I allowed, not bothering to hide my tone or the emphasis on the past tense.

"I'm the one doing the shopping," Serana cut in, her expression matching mine. "Your quality was recommended. However, if you do not need our septims…"

"Ah, no, no. Apologies for the poor first impression. I am Taarie and the… face of our business. For perhaps obvious reasons," the Altmer tried to mollify us. "What were you hoping to acquire?"

"Pretty much a whole new wardrobe," Serana admitted after a pause. "I need some standard civilian garments, as well as several mage's robes."

Well, that certainly lit a fire under an Argonian's tail, the thought was dry as the Altmer went straight into professional mode.

"Ah, well we don't really lower ourselves to standard attire, my dear. We provide clothing for all of Solitude's most influential residents. We'll soon have you bedecked in Skyrim's finest garments, and I'm quite certain that you'll be the envy of all the mages at that college of yours."

Neither of us corrected her assumption and I took a position on a bench to wait. Taarie was soon bustling, taking Serana's measurements with a knotted rope and scratching notes with a pure white quill. "I must say, your attire is very unusual. Very elegant, in its own way, but practically screams 'ancient' when it comes to fashion and style."

I bit my lip against a laugh, suddenly grateful that Serana no longer had the vampire's ability to catch my stuttering breath. If I started laughing, Serana might too, and it would be a bear in a pit to explain what was so funny. 'Ancient' was an understatement to the extreme.

The Altmer swept off and came back with an armload of folded garments, "Let's just have you try these on and see how they fit."

Serana moved away to a part of the store shielded by curtains.

With her primary target now occupied, Taarie turned to me.

"If you ever want to replace those old rags, I can certainly accommodate you. A fine noblewoman needs her guard dressed accordingly."

I snorted, "Old rags!? Do you always insult people when you meet them?"

"It's not an insult, just an observation," the Altmer waved a hand dismissively. "If I were walking around with a wound, I would want you to tell me to see a doctor. Your outfit is something of an open wound where attire is concerned."

"Wounds cause pain," I said shortly, "and I hunt vampires, which means I need armor that protects me. I can't wander around merely looking good. Fashion is rather far from my mind."

"Few people care about appearances, these days," she agreed sorrowfully, "and the world is the worse for it."

Serana stepped out, decked in a set of warm winter clothes in an autumn red that was almost reminiscent of low-burning coals. A dark red quilted vest cradled her torso, adding warmth over a long-sleeved tunic. The edges were buttoned together with orange banded agates. The collar fit snugly against her neck, and a white pearl the size of my thumbnail nestled at the base of her throat. The pants were a dark red that matched the vest, and made of heavier material to repel snow and resist splashing meltwater.

Taarie was soon upon her, tugging, straightening, and humming to herself as she inserted sewing pins as notes to show where the clothes needed to be taken in. As she worked, she kept up a stream of explanations about what the fabric was, and how it worked to keep Serana both well-dressed and warm.

Once Serana returned to the dressing room for a new set, Taarie returned to me, "Surely you have downtime, right? Time for relaxation to simply be among regular people, instead of swimming through undead bodies?"

There was a disapproving sound from off in the shadows. Endarie was shamelessly eavesdropping and had no qualms about inserting her less-than-endearing opinions.

I was beginning to see why her sister dealt with customers. While I had met many other shopkeepers with more charisma and customer service, Taarie was definitely the one to do business with in this particular shop.

I sighed slightly, "Rarely. I'm not sure if you heard of the vampire attack during Olaf's festival, but I was a part of that. My job is to have a weapon at hand and protection already on, in case such incidents happen."

Taarie fumbled a bit with the set of mage's robes she had gotten out for Serana. The look on her face said she had indeed heard of the incident, and by the way her face paled, she knew the danger that had been averted. "Ah. Ah yes… I see why you would… eschew the finer things in life in favor of the warrior's path. I've heard... stories from other cities of similar incidents." She cleared her throat and seemed to rally herself. "Nevertheless, I'm sure we can find you something that allows for freedom of movement as well as protection. After all, I managed to find something quite dashing for Bryling, who has quite the taste for functional as well as fashionable."

I had no idea who Bryling was so I just looked down at my Dawnguard armor, "What, exactly, is wrong with my armor?"

The entire set had been thoroughly cleaned last night, with the leather treated and the metal polished. It might not be the newest set of armor in Skyrim, but it certainly turned the fangs of my enemies from my flesh well enough.

"Nothing at all. It's very... nice," she said the word in all politeness, and no sincerity. "If you want something with a little more style, however, we could fix you right up."

Apparently, the scent of Septims is in her nose and she won't let it go. Ugh. Pushy shop keeps. The thought was annoyed but also somewhat amused. If the worst thing that happened was dealing with a poncy Altmer tailor, I would consider the day to be perfectly peaceful.

"I'm no common soldier; I'm a member of the Dawnguard," I advised her. "This armor is more than protection; it advertises who we are and what we do. If you're so determined to get me to buy fancier armor, try to keep that in mind?"

If Taarie had been less of a highborn, she would have cackled with delight as she herded me into the middle of the room. She began a flurry of quick sketches and taking notes and measurements in a hand that flew across the page in small, neat letters.

The afternoon was soon consumed as the shopkeep darted between us. One minute she was marking Serana's choices for altering, and the next, getting measurements from me to create a custom set or two. A few townsfolk wandered in and out, occasionally buying something. For the most part though, Taarie had us to herself until the sun sank behind the buildings and the lanterns outside were lit. We were politely but professionally chased out, with the promise of having Serana's clothes altered in a few days.

Satisfied, we hurried to the Blacksmith to commission a gold and emerald ring, and after some light haggling, left with the promise that it would be ready in a day or two.

"Well," I remarked with good-natured humor, handing over some septims, "I get the feeling that my pouch is going to be much lighter after this trip."

Serana gave me a rueful smile; "I know I was excited to get all new clothes, but if this is going to be too much…"

"Eh," I spread my hands, "It's going to be expensive, but I knew that coming here, and we have a few days to kill. If you'd like to try exploring tomorrow, I'll bet you'd make a friend at Angeline's Aromatics with your ingredients from Darkfall Cave. Share your knowledge with her, and you both could be selling some really impressive potions for a good profit. She might be able to teach you a thing or two about perfumes."

Serana perked up, then paused, "What will you be doing?"

"There's a shop called Fletchers outside of Castle Dour's courtyard. I might refresh my knowledge and see about getting better at making arrows."