~ 1 Month Later ~

The Housecarls each carried a chest off the wagons and began moving them into the Lakeview House. It had recently finished its construction and was now being furnished in each of its rooms. Chests of books went to the library, armor and weapons to the armories, materials to the smithy and alchemy tower, and each Housecarl had their own things to move into their own rooms.

Serana sat at a table with Julia in her arms, watching everyone work, including Nero who, having designed the house, directed each person to the appropriate room. When he noticed Serana though and how relaxed she was, he quickly came over for a moment.

"You could come and lend a hand, you know," he said with a slightly jealous tone.

"I'm holding the baby," argued Serana, "who is finally quiet again. If I move, she might start up. You want to try and calm her down?"

"Yes."

Serana sighed, "I've got her. Besides, I don't have my vampiric strength anymore. I'm sure you've got this covered," she said with a wink.

Nero rolled his eyes, "fine, but we've got a lot of unpacking to do even after everything's moved in."

And with that, Nero turned back to continue working, and under his breath Serana heard him say in a mocked tone, 'holding the baby.'

Suddenly though, everyone turned to see a band of horses slowly riding up the hill to the house. As soon as they made out who the riders were, the Housecarls put hands on their weapons, Meeko began growling, Serana held Julia closer and Nero squinted his eyes.

Five Thalmor rode up, four of which were soldiers, and at their head, one dressed in fancier robes. The leader had his hood down, revealing short blonde hair and the aldmeri's green skin. There was something different though. He didn't have the same look any other Thalmor Nero had ever seen. They stopped a small way from the house, by the stable still being built, and they all dismounted. The leader came forward, by himself, while his guards remained by the horses. He walked up to Nero, who was tense and ready for anything, and stopped a metre away.

Then he offered his hand, "Canonreeve Thrandonir."

A tense quiet went across the area, as anyone prepared for this thalmor to try to arrest Nero or attack him. Hopefully all he did was just insult Nero.

Nero, still skeptical, reluctantly took the hand of the elf and shook it, "Nero Dragons-bane."

Thrandonir nodded, "I'm sorry to interrupt, Legate. I would have this done in parchment, but I felt the need to meet you. Is there some place we can speak in private?"

Nero looked around at everyone who had their hands on their weapons, and turned back, "with your guards?"

"No. They will remain by the horses," answered Thrandonir.

Nero nodded, "follow me."

He turned and began walking to the house, waving his hand to signal everyone not to follow but stay cautious. Thrandonir followed him as he climbed some outside stairs to a balcony that overlooked the lake. Once he was sure they were alone, Nero turned to the altmer.

"We're alone."

Thrandonir nodded, "I've come to deliver news. War will not be declared."

Nero drank in the words and exhaled a breath of relief that had been waiting, then nodded.

"I arrived here a month ago to a very large heap of mess in Solitude. Your General Tullius and soon to be Queen Elisif informed me of the situation, and the previous Emissary, Rulindil, he confirmed what had happened."

Nero folded his arms, listening.

"Rulindil was then arrested and has been sent back to the Summerset Isles to await punishment for his actions. Allow me to promise you that he will never again set foot in Skyrim."

Nero still stayed silent, as Thrandonir continued.

"Until such time as a better candidate may be selected, I will remain here as acting First Emissary, whereby the actions of both Elenwen and Rulindil will never be repeated."

Nero couldn't believe it; he was listening to… a polite elf.

"I do not wish for the events of the past to be repeated. That is one of the reasons I felt it best to meet you, and assure you that my people will carry out our duty properly, to the letter. No one will be wrongfully convicted. Proper trials will take place, and I hope that we can get along a little better than my predecessors."

Nero was in a slightly stunned silence, but as Thrandonir waited for a response, he avidly searched for one, "well, I… that is… that's good news."

At that, Thrandonir picked up, "Mr Dragons-bane, I understand your discomfort around me. I understand that this is a tense situation and that all your friends probably still have their hands on their weapons. I assure you, there will never be need for it again, not while I am here. Elenwen had what many aldmeri have: a superiority complex. I have no such ideals. While I am here, I want us to be respectful of each other, and that is all. I will do my duty, that I assure you will not disturb yours."

He offered his hand again, and Nero, now slightly more relaxed, took and shook.

"Might I also say, this is a lovely house, brilliant view here, and no snow. I'm not looking forward to that back in Solitude."

Nero chuckled, and was amazed; this elf just made a joke.

"Well, I should be off, unfortunately there's still a lot of matters to deal with. It was nice to meet you, Mr Dragons-bane, and hopefully we won't see too much of each other over the coming months."

Nero nodded and led him back to the front of the house where he joined his guards and mounted his horse, after which he turned and rode away, leaving Nero and everyone else perplexed. They suddenly all dropped what they were doing and came over.

"What was that about?" asked Serana.

"Well, we're not at war," smiled Nero, "and… I don't think I've ever met a more polite elf."

Serana furrowed her eyebrows in confusion and looked back towards the thalmor riding away.

"Well… we're not at war. That's good enough for me."

Nero smiled, and they continued going about their day. Later, when they had assembled enough of a dining table, Nero and Serana attempted making a big dinner together for everyone, while Lydia held Julia and Jordis played with Meeko. They served a large chicken and ate frivolously.

Later that night, Nero and Serana carried Julia to her cot in her room, but she began crying.

"I don't think she wants the cot again," said Serana.

"Come on, then," said Nero.

The three of them laid down on the large double bed in the master bedroom, with Julia between her parents. Outside, the moons of Skyrim shone brightly, and a gentle wind blew over the mountains.

Over the peaks, a dragon flew down and cascaded across the land, northward. Its wings shone black and gold in the light, and it flew with speed and purpose. Into the cold snows over Labyrinthian and past Dawnstar, it flew far out to sea, its path causing a small wave across the water. It joined the other dragons on the island, who were all calling up to the sky. Upon the highest mountain of the island, there were five cradles. The black gold dragon landed at the top and dug its claws into the circular key on the front of the central largest. It turned, and slowly the cradle opened, and all the dragons roared to the sky.

Author's Notes

And there we have it my people! The end of Last Vigils! I hope this wrapped up everything and that you guys enjoyed it! I know I enjoyed writing it. I have to say, this story has gone through a lot of change over the years that I've had it in mind but I'm glad I've finally put it out there for you guys to enjoy as well!

So a few things we've learned and seen and a few things I guess I want to explain if it wasn't understood. They finally had a baby! Nero and Serana finally have their baby daughter Julia (I always knew that was going to be her name) and they finally moved into their Lakeview House! I wanted this to kind of mirror the first chapter of Dragonborn in SS3DJ's story where Serana is sitting at a table while Nero runs about trying to design the house, and now here they are with it all built and a baby girl in their arms!

I wanted to say also, very small detail but what the hell, whilst writing the 'Battle of Solitude' I listened to "Imagine the Fire" from the Dark Knight Rises soundtrack, was very cool and I think if you reread that chapter, give that song a blast.

If you guys have any questions, drop them in the reviews and I'll answer whatever I can. I will confirm now, I'm going to take a bit of a break from this for a while. Not a complete hiatus, as this story is not over! But a short break for me to do some Uni work, relax, and conjure up more ideas! So you haven't seen the last of me or the end of this story!

Once again, I want to thank SS3DJ for starting this whole thing, we wouldn't be here without his original story, Legends of the Dovahkiin, and I wouldn't be as avid a reader of his work as well as writer of my own. He gave his blessing for this story, and so far it's been a blast!

Thank you guys so much for reading, if there's anything you think should've happened or any questions, again, drop me a review, I love reading them!

That's all from me for now, so have a good one guys, and I'll see you in the next chapter! Bubye!