125.

Whiterun was filled with laughter, warmth, and celebration. The Dragonsreach was packed with people, with music and good food. The rubble was cleared, the rebuilding of the destroyed houses was underway and the city was recovering. The skeleton of the dead dragon was now used as decoration and there was two dragon's skull hanging in the walls of the Dragonsreach.

Sura walked among the people, stopped every now and then to exchange a word or two and then continued on. She barely remembered a time when she was afraid to meet everyone. She couldn't even believe she once hid behind the large wooden pillars when someone came to the reach. It was like another life, another reality, a prolonged dream which she finally woke up from. She saw Mila on the other side of the hall. The girl waved to her and she waved back.

She stepped inside the small study of the court wizard. The place was empty now, like once before. Back then she was eager to find a way to end her nightmares. To end her own life. It was a desperate act and she recognized that part of herself, accepted the decision she made back then. She never imagined it would lead her down a path where she would find all the answers to her endless questions. Farengar spotted her, joined her in the study and together they thought back to those times when a simple fire spell was all she could manage and clairvoyance was the only thing he dared to teach to her. She opened the door to the small side room and sighed. This tiny little place had been her home for so long. She slept here, studied here and dreamed of her unattainable love. And during the nights, when the reach was quiet, she usually wandered its endless hallways and tried her best to avoid her nightmares. She brought her hand to her neck but the Eye was gone and she sighed again. The necklace had been a part of her life for such a long time, it shielded her and kept her alive. But now she was strong enough to live without it, strong enough to stand on her own. But she still missed it, missed her parents. Maybe one day she would meet them again.

She noticed Lydia near the huge fireplace. She was wearing a beautiful blue gown and she practically radiated happiness. Lydia waved to her and joined her, she pulled her into a warm embrace.

"What's this for?" Sura laughed but hugged her back.

"For everything," Lydia smiled. "If it wasn't for you, I would still wander around in Sovngarde like a lost soul without any memories or feelings."

"Thank my father," Sura replied. "It was his spell and his jewel."

"But he wasn't here," Lydia said. "You were."

"I'm just glad you're back," Sura took her hands into her own. "And…married? I can't believe you managed to charm J'Ziir into marrying you!"

"It was his idea," Lydia pointed out. "He dragged me to Riften, straight into the Temple of Mara and told poor Maramal to wed us immediately. When he said we needed at least two witnesses, Brynjolf and Aura were forced to attend. It wasn't very romantic, let me tell you."

"I don't think he forced you to say yes," Sura giggled.

"No," Lydia admitted. "But he did threaten to throw me out if I refused him."

"Oh dear," Sura shook her head. "What a hard, tough decision to make. To marry the unbearable Dragonborn or live in the streets of Whiterun for the rest of your days. How long did it take for you to decide?"

"Couple of seconds," Lydia leaned closer. "But I enjoyed watching him squirm."

They talked and laughed for a while longer and then Mila pulled Lydia somewhere among the people. She happily followed her and Sura spotted Jarl Balgruuf near the tables. She exchanged a few words with him, took a glass of wine from and then she headed upstairs. She didn't really care for the festivities that much but of course, everyone was entitled to celebrate. The civil war was over and so was the dragon threat. The World-Eater was defeated, hopefully for good.

She opened the large doors that led to the great porch. She wanted to get some fresh air and maybe admire the Aurora's that always looked spectacular when they blazed above the plains. The porch was a perfect place to admire them. She noticed she wasn't the only one who needed some peace and quiet. J'Ziir stood there, leaning against the balcony. He heard her footsteps, turned and faced her. She had changed so much from that first time when he saw her. The shy, timid girl was gone and it was replaced by this beautiful, strong woman. He didn't mind her company but the people of Whiterun still managed to annoy him from time to time.

"Congratulations," Sura said. "You could have invited us to the wedding."

"It was…unplanned," J'Ziir replied.

"That's strange," Sura looked at him. "I thought your life was very well planned and organized when you arrived in Whiterun all those months ago."

"You and me both," J'Ziir sighed. "I was so sure where to go and what to do."

"What changed?" Sura asked.

"You changed!" J'Ziir stared at her. "You came back from the dead."

"You have two people now who have returned from the dead," Sura sipped her wine. "All thanks to our father. Don't you think it's time to forgive him too?"

J'Ziir didn't answer. They owed a lot to their father. And he always paid his debts. He remembered the words Azirr told him just before he vanished into nothingness. The Argonian. Always the Argonian. It seemed he held the key and had something to do with this, something to do with the dragons and the reason why this was pushed upon him in the first place.

"Are you going somewhere again?" Sura nudged him gently.

"At some point, yes," J'Ziir nodded. "I have to find out what he meant. And to be honest…it's nice to get away every now and then. Live under the open sky. But…coming back feels…weird."

"Good weird or bad weird?" Sura raised her eyebrows.

"Good," J'Ziir smiled. "It feels good."

Sura chuckled. She heard the doors open behind them. Mila's laughter echoed and bounced from the stone walls. She ran up to them, wrapped her hands around J'Ziir waist and looked up at him. He smiled at her and caressed her hair. Lydia and Vilkas joined them moments later. Vilkas wrapped his arms around Sura's shoulder and kissed her forehead. Lydia leaned against the balcony, her fingers found J'Ziir's hand and they locked together with his. J'Ziir looked at her and let out a content sigh.

"Welcome home, J'Ziir," Sura said. "Welcome home."

A/N: This story has been my "baby" for the past 5-6 years. I've written it, re-written it, edited and then edited some more. I tried to create characters that were likable, realistic as much as fantasy characters can be but also vulnerable. I know, J'Ziir basically was this cliche "angry guy who suffers from a terrible past and doesn't know how to love", but I hope some of you grew to like him. I know I did :D. And I hope he didn't come across as too terrible, I know he hurled insults at Lydia, but I wanted to make her rise to his level and be able to take it and then give something in return. Also, I didn't want to make Sura this indecisive damsel in distress. I wanted her to be the hero more than J'Ziir, save her loved ones, all by herself if nothing else worked. She never lost her faith after that one time. That kind of meant that Vilkas was the most "underdeveloped" of these four, but I hoped he might grow as a character when I basically twisted the whole Companions quest line into a different form. Creative freedom, on my part. :)

My characters faced hard choices, hard decisions but they always came back, stronger than before. I realize that I could have cut this story in half and uploaded it in two parts but since I have "sequels" planned, I wanted to keep it pretty much intact.

For those of you who liked this story and its characters, I have a sequel or two planned. Happens in the same universe (J'Ziir is the only DB for me at this point), but with different characters. Brynjolf practically wrote himself so I love his humor so he'll be appearing in the coming story a bit more, although I can't plan a love story for him because, in my eyes, he just is the kind of person who wouldn't settle for one person. Also, I didn't want to just follow the main story because everyone who loves Skyrim knows all about it. And as for the side quests, I sort of took a shortcut through all of those tedious, continuous "fetch this, do that" quests.

Last but not least, I want to thank all of you who read my story, commented good or bad, liked it, followed and just simply enjoyed it. :D Thank you, for the bottom of my tiny little heart!