(Disclaimer: I do not own Skyrim; just Xana, Brii and my other OC's)

(Authors Note: Hello dear readers and fellow gamers, I apologize for the delay in updating this story, but I've been rather busy lately and unfortunately had a spell of writers block for a few weeks. But don't worry, I'm not done with this story yet. Now, some of you may be wondering why is my story family based and not full of daring adventures like in the game? Well, simple: the genre of this story is Romance and Family, so there you go. If you don't like it, then don't read it. But if you do like it, then that's awesome :) Now, as a warning, this chapter is a little sad around the middle and might trigger some strong emotions here and there, so I'll be sure to mark the area you can skip if you don't want to read it (watch for these ** when the option to skip pops up). I don't want to give away too many details, but let's just say it involves a death (No, NOT Odahviing, Xana or Brii as they're too important to the story). My goal is to provide more depth, emotion and growth into the story, not trigger nerves. So you can heed my warning and skip the section, or proceed at your own leisure. It's your call. Anyways, I'll try to post some more content when I get the chance, but it may be a little while. Until next time, stay safe and stay awesome!)

-23rd of First Seed-

Shastan stood under the archway in eager anticipation for his bride's arrival, while their families and friends stood on either side of the pathway. The sound of birdsong and music filled the air as the local bard (Tunivelle) played her lute, signaling that the bride was approaching. Sure enough, Marbella stepped into view and made her way down the aisle. Truly, she was a vision of loveliness: Her hair was elegantly braided and adorned with a floral crown, while her doe eyes sparkled with joy. A divine smile lined her angelic face as she approached her groom with overwhelming excitement radiating off her aura.

As the priest addressed the crowd, Xana felt Odahviing wrap his arm around her waist and gently pull her closer to his larger frame, while their tiny daughter peacefully slept in the secure confines of the hide carrier across her Monah's chest. Both parents shared a loving kiss before focusing their attention on the ceremony:

"My dearest Marbella, words cannot even begin to express how happy I am to be marrying you at long last. From the day we first met as children, I knew you were the one I wanted to share my life with. You've brought so much happiness into my life thus far and I look forward to sharing the rest of my life with you...if you will have me?"

"I will," she tearfully replied as he gently slipped the ring on her finger. Marbella then lovingly squeezed his hand and stated, "My beloved Shastan, you've captured my heart since childhood and have never given me a reason to doubt your feelings or intentions. You've shown me that love isn't limited to one's own race, and that we are capable of wondrous things when we work together. Over the years you've brought me laughter, confidence and joy, and I cannot wait to share many more years of happiness with you...if you will have me?"

"Of course I will," he lovingly replied as she slipped a gold ring onto his finger. The two of them then sealed their vows with a kiss, to which the crowd broke out into applause at their union.

XXXXX

-Later-

Once the reception was over, Shastan and Marbella headed off to their cottage in the woods to consummate their love and begin their honeymoon. Meanwhile, Xana was assisting her family with cleaning up after the day's events. Of course, there wasn't that much to do, but she insisted on lending her aid nonetheless.

"Oh, I can't believe another one of my babies is finally married," Flower-Song stated with a fond smile. "Now all that's left is for Reem-Sha and Stone-Scale to find mates of their own and settle down."

Xana emitted a soft laugh at that, "You just want to see all of your children marry and settle down, don't you?"

"Of course," she replied with a smile. "There's no greater joy in life than seeing your children grow up and find that special someone who makes them happy. That, and having said children bless you with grandchildren," she winked, making her daughter playfully roll her eyes.

"Well, I'm glad Odahviing and I were able to provide you with a granddaughter...even though she was unexpected given our vast differences, and the fact that me being an elf should not have allowed me to conceive as young as I did. But I'm not going to question it any further: She's been a joy and a blessing, and I can no longer imagine my life without her in it," she fondly looked over where Brii was currently being held by Tenova and smiled, "I'm happy she's taken a liking to all of you."

"As are we, my dear. She's such a sweet and well-tempered baby. In a way, she's much like you in that aspect."

"Oh? I was well-tempered?"

"Of course," she fondly smiled with a curt nod. "You were always smiling and happy. You never cried unless you were hungry or needed changing. And you never fussed in the middle of the night, whereas your brothers always fussed when they were newborn hatchlings." Flower-Song emitted a soft chuckle while continuing to tidy up the area, "I remember the night the twins hatched from their egg: they both cried so hard upon breaking through their shell. Your Father was worried that they somehow hurt themselves during birth, but it turns out they were just fighting with each other. As soon as they were free of the egg, they quickly settled down."

"So, they were just cranky because they were tired of sharing the same space with one another?"

"It would seem so."

"How cute," she cooed with an adorable smile.

"Yes, they were very cute when they were little. Of course, they still are, but nowadays they can't get away with tracking mud into the house and expect me to brush it off as something cute and innocent. It's not."

At that, Xana couldn't help but laugh. The two of them shared a moment of mirth before returning to their current task; but after a few minutes, Swims-To-Sea came running over, looking frantic and slightly winded.

"Dear, what's wrong," Flower-Song asked, concerned.

"It's Nessie! She's over by the Hist tree with Shore...I think she's in labor…"

"WHAT?!" Both women stated, shocked at the unexpected news.

Without hesitation, the three of them quickly rushed over to the Hist tree at the far edge of the village where Renessie was lying on the water bank, partially submerged, while Runs-To-Shore knelt by her side and held her hand as she struggled to deliver their egg(s)/hatchling(s).

"Nessie, I'm back and I brought Mom and Xana with me," Sea soothingly spoke as he knelt on her other side and kissed her palm.

"S-Sea...Shore...I-I didn't know I was expecting...I'm so sorry…"

"Shh...It's alright, Ness. It's alright," Shore replied as he softly nuzzled her cheek. "None of that matters now. What matters is that we help you get through this and that you're safe…," he tried not to show how worried he actually was. During the last few minutes while his twin was absent, he witnessed her excrete a lot of blood which made the surrounding water turn bright red. He feared she was experiencing a miscarriage and this was her body's way of purging the egg(s) or hatchling(s) out of her system.

As Flower-Song and Xana entered the shallows to assist her, Renessie emitted a painful cry before a tiny baby floated up to the surface. While it was extremely rare for Argonian women to undergo live births, it was not uncommon as the Hist sometimes required females to birth live young if they were away from Black Marsh during the duration of their pregnancies. Having lived in Skyrim for the last few months, Renessie had no immediate ties to the Hist, and therefore, had produced live offspring as opposed to eggs.

As Xana used her restoration magic to help her sister-in-law, Flower-Song worked to try and bring life into the unresponsive infant. It's eyes were tightly closed and it's head lolled to the side while it's mouth was slightly parted in a silent cry. Rolling it onto its stomach, she began to rub its back, hoping to encourage it to breathe, but it was no use. After several minutes of continuous stimulation with no viable results, she broke the sad news to her sons and daughter-in-law: their baby was stillborn.

Both Sea and Shore mournfully looked upon their lifeless hatchling before their attention immediately returned to their mate. Tearfully emitting another pained cry, Renessie gave another big push before feeling a second baby slide out of her body, where it then bubbled up to the surface and into Xana's awaiting hands. By the grace of the Divines, this little one was alive! While it was quite small in size, its cry was strong and healthy sounding. With a relieved smile, the new Aunt carefully tied off and cut his cord before gently handing him over to his Mother, where she instinctively cradled him against her scaled chest while her mates' affectionately nuzzled her cheeks.

All three parents spent the next several minutes admiring their tiny son: his scales were light pink in color with a slightly bluish tint, while his eyes were bright blue and full of new life. While lacking in horns at the moment, it was anyone's guess if he'd have curled horns like his Mother, or straight one's like his Fathers'. They also wondered if he'd have feathers later on as well, but that was something better left for another time. Right now, they were just happy that he survived birth. Of course, they wished his sibling would have survived as well.

XXXXX

Nearly an hour after the surprise delivery, Renessie was being carried back to the homestead with her tiny newborn securely swaddled against her chest. As much as she, Shore and Sea wanted to tell the rest of their family about their stillborn child, they didn't want to ruin such a joyful day with heartbreak and grief. That, and the new parents wanted to focus their attention on their surviving child. They had already said their mournful goodbyes to their lost baby and had returned them to the earth (as was custom) before setting off for the homestead.

Upon entering the house, they were greeted by Tenova, Odahviing, Reem-Sha and Stone-Scale, who were preparing a light supper when they entered. "We were wondering when you'd all come home. Is everything alri…," Reem-Sha's eyes suddenly landed on the tiny bundle in Renessie's arms. "By the Hist, is that a hatchling?!"

"Yep," Swims-To-Sea nodded while a smile lined his face; however, he was internally grieving at the loss of their firstborn. "Nessie birthed him shortly after the reception. Say hello to your nephew, Light-Amidst-Darkness, or LAD for short."

Odahviing slightly smirked knowing Tenova could no longer use that nickname to address him because he now had a grandchild with those initials. A small victory indeed. As he mentally relished his father-in-law's defeat, his brother-in-law (Stone-Scale) asked, "Does this mean you all will extend your stay?"

"Yes," Runs-To-Shore answered with a nod. "With LAD being as small as he is and him having been born instead of hatched, he needs further exposure to the Hist in order to gain strength. Xana, Brii and Odahviing are free to return to Skyrim whenever they please, but Sea, Nessie and I have to stay until our son is well enough to survive the long journey."

"Understandable."

Hearing this, Odahviing looked over at his mate and emitted a sigh, "As much as I dislike being away from the skies of Keizaal, we will also remain here until your kiir is strong enough to travel. I know Xana would rather stay so she can offer her assistance and support. That, and she would constantly worry about all of you if we were to return home without you. To a dovah such as myself, it's in my nature to please my mate and support her decisions. Therefore, I will gladly remain here because it is her wish to do so."

At his selfless offer, the young Dunmer wrapped her arms around his larger frame, "Thank you, Odahviing. Thank you so much!"

His gaze softened as he gently tilted her chin up, "Of course, dii brit fahliil. But you should already know that I'd do anything to make you happy."

"I know," she then met him in the middle and kissed him while their daughter emitted a tiny squeak. "Oh, Brii, there's someone here that we'd like you to meet." She then carefully took a hold of her baby girl and brought her over to Renessie, her Uncles and their new son, "Say hi to your cousin, Light-Amidst-Darkness."

The little hybrid emitted a soft cooing sound, to which the tiny Argonian sleepily opened his bright blue eyes and stared at her in confusion, while his tail slightly twitched within his swaddling cloth. At that moment, both Mothers knew their children would grow up to be best friends.

XXXXX

-29th of Rain's Hand-

After over a month of exposure to the Hist, Light-Amidst-Darkness was finally strong enough to leave Blackwind. He was currently being held by his Mother while she sat in the back of the wagon with her mates'. Meanwhile, Odahviing and Xana sat up front with Brii. Despite having left for Skyrim nearly four days ago, there was still a bit of traveling left to do. Thankfully, the group was nearing Whiterun and would stop there for the night as the sky was beginning to darken.

Upon finally stopping, Swims-To-Sea, Runs-To-Shore, and Odahviing began assembling the tents while their wives tended to the children. Xana was looking forward to finally returning home so she could start planting crops in her garden; however, there was also the matter of traveling up to Solitude and speaking with General Tullius in regards to the whereabouts of Legate Sevan Telendas. Whether he was still alive or not, Xana wanted to know. If nothing else, it would provide her with some much needed closure.