Two years later…

Serana stared up at the wooden ceiling of Breezehome, blankly tracing each knot and imperfection with her eyes. Beside her, Mora slept peacefully, one arm draped lazily over Serana's midriff. Despite the sun having set long ago, Serana stayed awake. Each night was the same. Even when it became so dark that despite her enhanced vision she could no longer see, Serana refused to let sleep take her. It was force of habit, really.

Mora didn't have nightmares nearly as often anymore.

Still, she couldn't seem to allow herself to drift off. She never could, not after what had happened.

The thought brought a lump to her throat, and her eyes drifted to rest on Mora's sleeping face. Mora, her little elf, was still so proud, despite what had happened. Too proud to ask for help, even when nightmares haunted her dreams. Sometimes, in the dead of night, Mora would wake up screaming. A scream that Serana couldn't hear. Mora's agony was silent, and she stubbornly refused to rouse Serana and ask for comfort.

So Serana stayed awake. Just in case.

Idly, she toyed with the golden band around her ring finger. It had been about a year since they had been married. It was a quiet affair, Serana only had Valerica to invite, and Mora's close friends were rather few.

Strangely, it was Serana who proposed. She had promised herself never to set foot in another temple, but that was long ago. Now, there was nothing she wouldn't do if it would make Mora smile again.

She could remember that day vividly, how she spoke her vows while looking into her love's golden eyes. How Mora's dress glinted in the soft light, filtered through stained glass windows. It had been perfect. Almost. Mora had cried then, but they were not the tears of happiness Serana longed for on that day. Mora's vows were whispered, the only sound she could create, just for Serana to hear. She thought it was beautiful, special, that Mora's words were for her alone. Her little elf thought otherwise. She had wanted to proclaim her love for all to hear, to claim Serana as her own in front of the world. But she could not.

How she cursed her father. The man who took away Mora's voice, and her happiness along with it. There were no celebrations after their victory at castle Volkihar. Had it not been made of stone, Serana would have burned the whole thing down. She never wanted to see it again. They had trudged back through the snow in silence, and in mourning. They could not carry the bodies with them. Tolfdir and Onmund had been felled in battle. The college mourned their loss, one a kind teacher, the other an eager student. The Companions lost Torvar and Farkas. Serana could still picture Vilkas sitting on the stone floor, cradling the limp form of his brother, his broken cries echoing loudly through the castle. There were no heroes that day, there would be no songs sung or poems recited. Most of Skyrim would forever be ignorant that they had been saved. They would never know of the students who lost a teacher and a friend, the man who lost a brother, the warriors who lost a companion. The Dragonborn who lost her voice.

Serana sighed, wishing, as she did every night, for the divines to answer her prayers.

Golden light filtered pleasantly through the leaves, basking the first in a comfortable warmth. Birds chirped, flitting about between branches, their song loud over the soft rustling of the leaves. Serana found herself to be a bit warm this far south, especially with the heavy humidity, but Mora seemed content to finally be rid of Skyrim's biting cold. Despite the slight discomfort brought on by the change in temperature, Serana was fascinated. She never knew trees could grow so big. Where they stretched almost too tall for her to see, and wide enough that a wagon could have passed through the middle. And everything was so green. Mosses grew in spades on fallen logs, or low hanging tree boughs. Toadstools and fungus littered the ground, along with flowers and swaying grasses. It was like something out of a fairytale.

They had been in Valenwood for a few days, and with each step they took Serana could feel both Mora's excitement and trepidation growing. She knew they were close. As they wended their way under low hanging vines and between trees, Mora suddenly broke into a run. Serana found herself hard pressed to keep up, lacking Mora's astonishing agility. She finally broke through the foliage and into a small clearing, where Mora was frozen as still as a statue. Before them, a small cottage stood, fashioned in the same dark tropical wood that surrounded them. A well kept garden flourished beside it, surrounded by a makeshift fence. Mora seemed transfixed by the sight, and Serana took it upon herself to guide the stricken woman forward, gently pulling her to the entrance. She raised her hand, and knocked sharply at the door. A brief shuffling could be heard from within, before the door was cracked open, revealing a pair of emerald eyes. As the door opened further, Serana couldn't help but smile. Mora's mother was the spitting image of her daughter, though her hair was black instead of brown, and her face was perhaps slightly more round. It was adorable, really, and now Serana was left with no doubts as to which parent gave Mora her height. Serana stepped forward, extending a friendly hand.

"Hello, Mrs. Reunia. It's a pleasure to finally meet you."

She didn't need to look back to know Mora was smiling.

Thanks for reading. Yes, this is the conclusion of the story. It's perhaps a bit short, but I liked it this way. This is the first story I've ever written, and I know it has its flaws (especially in the early chapters, I might go back and fix those eventually) but I hope you enjoyed it nonetheless.

As for a sequel (or a prequel), that remain to be seen. As of now, I have little planned. If I do another story, I'm definitely going to take more time to plan it out. I had pretty much no written plan for this story, and I'm afraid it showed sometimes. I have learned a ton from writing this, and it was a lot of fun. Hopefully next time I can write something a bit longer, and more original.

Again, thank you so much for reading. To those who reviewed, I appreciate it immensely, your feedback and comments helped me come up with ideas and to keep motivated with my writing. Perhaps I should also look into getting a Beta Reader, I feel like that would have helped too...

As always, review or PM me with any questions, comments, or concerns.