I could feel her presence in the great reception embassy.
It seemed to glimmer and spark in my consciousness; as frantic and tortured by the excitement and anticipation as I was, her energy leaping out to me like a flare of light breaking a deep and lonely darkness.

My heart was thumping so heavily that the sound of it was ringing in my head.

A small part of me could still not believe that she was truly here; alive and still as desperate for my presence as I was for hers.
My mind had become so accustomed to believing that she was gone forever. The years without her had gone by like wind; in a long and lonely darkness, where every night I would dream of her risen spirit whispering;
'Remember me.'

My heart from its prison would cry to her spirit as she walked alone through the void: 'I was with you in agony. Remember your promise of paradise.'

The memory of her bloodied corpse in Sovngarde; the soft ash where her pale flesh had been as it crumbled in my hands, and slowly floated to the ground like snow to reveal her charred bones in my embrace.

Where the dreams and memories of our unions had once been the most painful of all, they had eventually grown to become my only comfort.

I had often thought of what I would give to feel her again; of how different our last embrace would have been if I had known what the future held.

Virdanyis walked swiftly and proudly by my side as we approached the huge, dark wooden doors.
He turned to me as we came to a stop outside of them, his bright, ice-blue eyes at the same height as mine, burning into me as he spoke in his calm, cultured voice.
I could barely hear what he was saying; the knowledge that she was waiting in the grand bed chamber just beyond the heavy wooden barrier drowned out everything else.

'Custom dictates that I'm supposed to brief you on the proper formalities to be followed in the presence of the queen.' He smiled again, his eyes lighting up with a hint of mischief and joy. 'But I don't want to make either of you wait any longer.'
He bowed gracefully as he stepped aside, gesturing toward the doors.

All around me became silent except for the pounding in my chest as I slowly pushed the door open; I saw my armoured hand upon the glossy wood as though I was watching through the eyes of another.

The smell of incense flooded my senses as the soft sconce light lit the crimson drapes hanging from the walls of the arched ceilings; bunches of gleamblossom in ornate vases rested upon low tables, their gentle glow guiding the way to the ornate bed against the far wall.

And it was then that I saw her; and all of my body and spirit began to sing.

Her huge blue eyes were glistening with emotion. The thin gilded robe she wore revealed the shape of her body against the light of the sconces as she tore the ornate silver crown from her head and flew across the crimson carpet toward me, her long black hair shining and floating around her white face as she ran.

As she threw her arms around my neck and pressed her body against my armour, I felt a searing heat of indescribable joy and release break within me like a blinding light, obliterating sixty years of anguish and suffering. The part of me that had died with her in Sovngarde so long ago returned to me like a breaking wave, and I felt myself become weaker than I had ever thought possible.

It was as though we had never been apart; as though all the time that had passed between had been nothing more than a dream.

I sighed heavily as she roughly kissed me, our teeth bumping together and our tongues touching as my hand slid down her back and I felt the heat of her body, the smooth curves of her shape.
'I found you,' she quietly gasped between deep breaths, tears streaming from her eyes as her long white fingers frantically danced across the skin of my neck. The sensation of it was electric. 'Oh, gods... How did I ever live...'

'I have waited for so long for you, Sera... Even though I thought it was in vain.'

'No god or force of this world could part me from you... No matter how hard they tried.'

The bliss I felt at this moment was so far beyond anything I had experienced at any time in my life, that it was almost disabling.

The hours had passed like minutes as we had become delirious in each other's arms, overwhelmed with love, pure joy, and a fierce and unquenchable lust.

The ecstasy I felt when my body was filled with him was more addictive than any drug or mundane yearning.

The first time he had taken me, he had been rough, forceful, driven by powerful emotions and an urgent need for unity; all of which I shared. It was better than I had ever imagined it could be. From the moment he had torn the fabric of my robes as he quickly pulled it from my shoulders and the exquisite expression on his face when he had seen that I wore nothing beneath it, every moment had been sublime beyond anything I had hoped for.

I was drifting upon a shimmering sea of peace and bliss.

I looked up at him as I rested my head on his shoulder, my arm on his broad, dark chest and my bare leg draped across him under the covers of the bed.
His blood-red eyes were half-lidded, a small smile of complete contentment on his lips. He turned to kiss me gently on the forehead, his muscle flexing under my cheek as he raised his arm to twirl my hair around his fingers.
The tattoos on his face were a little darker now; the coarse black hair on his jaw and lip had been carefully trimmed. The mane of a Mohawk I was so fond of was longer; the glossy black tips of it drooped ever so slightly when he was standing now.

A long, pearlescent scar reached from beneath his right ear to his collarbone. I found others as I gently ran my hand down his firm chest and to the hard muscle of his belly.

Teldryn hadn't aged at all. I still found him to be so staggeringly handsome; I could have stayed with him there in the bed all day, frequently interrupting our long conversations with more love-making.

'Should I address you by your proper title now, my queen?'
I smiled as I saw the familiar brazen grin creep upon Teldryn's face that I had missed so dearly. I melted as I heard his deep, purring voice, feeling his chest vibrate as he spoke. I snuggled into him a little more, basking in my contentment.

'Sera. Fetcher. N'wah. I don't care.' I pushed myself up to kiss him on the lips, his hand running down the length of my bare back. 'You can call me whatever you like, captain Sero.'

He laughed quietly, pulling me closer to him as he growled to me. 'I'll be testing that one out later.' He lifted his face to gently bite the tip of my ear; that familiar gesture he had always used to show his amorous intentions. I smiled, feeling the warm ripple of love course through my body again.

'You'll need to learn to behave yourself when you're a royal consort.'

'You mean favoured consort.' He kissed my cheek as he continued. 'You'll need to explain that one to me. It implies that you've got more than one.'

'There's plenty of time to explain everything later.' I sat up in the bed, smiling down at him softly. 'I forgot to dismiss Virdanyis from his duty. He's probably heard quite a show out there by the doors.'

'Lucky man.' He winked at me and smiled, showing his teeth.

I gently got up out of the bed, searching the vast room for my torn and cast away robes.

'Fetcher,' he said mischievously as I shot him a droll glance. 'There is one thing I was hoping you could help me with before we go to reign in your frozen wasteland.'

Geldis stared up from the bar, slack-jawed in shock as General Virdanyis stood before him, flanked by his lieutenants Seithring and Adelbhor.

The General's face was stern and cold as he spoke, his arms folded and his gleaming silver spear sheathed on his back.

'Citizen,' said Virdanyis in a strong and commanding voice. 'You have been summoned to appear before Queen Nysteris and her most honourable favoured consort. You are to come with us at once.'

He swallowed hard as his gaze quickly passed over the intimidating Snow Elves, the two lieutenants showing no more emotion than their stern-looking General.

'Oh... Er, of course... Um... Your... Grace.' He quickly stuffed his bar cloth into his belt, straightening his clothes with his hands as he nervously stepped out from behind the bar, sweat beginning to bead on his forehead.

The scene that greeted him when he opened the doors was one that nearly sent him stumbling backwards.

The two identical dragons sat resting upon the sand and ash of Solstheim, their hissing breath blowing up clouds from the ground as they turned to glare at him; their heads and necks were adorned with intricate silver bridles and bits, their polished scales gleaming in the dim orange sun as they began to toss their horned heads, low rumbles emanating from their mouths.

'Oh Geldis!'

He looked across in a state of pure shock to see Teldryn in his bonemold armour, a broad grin upon his face as he stood with his arm wrapped around the waist of a beautiful, white-skinned woman, her delicate silver crown resting on top of her head of long, shiny black hair.

'I believe you owe me a vat of Sujamma.'