The morning sun shining in her eyes woke Erdi up. She winced against the sun's glare and turned to hide her face in her husband's chest.

She did not want to wake up. This morning she felt too good to even think about moving away from Shagram's arms. She smiled when she heard him purr in his sleep and nuzzled closer.

Despite all the warnings her friends always gave her, what they said her first time will be like, she felt fantastic. A little sticky and sore, perhaps, but nothing like the horrible 'torn apart by wild animals' pain or the 'clubbed to death by giants' thing they often described. Did they lie to her? Or… maybe they just didn't have such a great lover as she did for their first time. She smiled even more and opened her eyes.

Shagram's green skin all but shone in the morning sunlight, revealing old battlescars she admired even back at Robber's Gorge. Her fingers traced the slightly puckered skin. Shagram started growling quietly, but did not wake up.

She kissed the chest under her cheek, then carefully crawled on top of him. She paused. This position was familiar. Didn't she climb on top of him when he was injured? His first reaction upon waking was to kiss her. Their first kiss, she thought with a smile.

His lips looked very inviting this morning. She leaned over him for a kiss. Seconds later, his eyes started to blink open and he purred, seeing her on top of him. His hands grasped the back of her neck, pulled her down to him and he kissed her gently.

Before they could continue, however, someone passed by their door. The Palace was waking up, it seemed. Erdi was once again reminded that the Palace was not exactly private. She couldn't wait to live at their own place. Their home. With a sigh of regret, she pulled away.

"Good morning, love," she smiled at Shagram.

"Morning," he rasped in a sleepy voice. He kissed her softly again. "How do you feel?" He asked her with concern.

She grinned, "Like I could make love with you again."

His eyes darkened with passion. He leaned in for another kiss… when someone passed their doors again. She giggled when he started growling and frowning at the door, then gave him one last quick kiss before standing up.

Before she could dress properly, she was interrupted by Shagram's hesitant voice, "Erdi?"

"Yes?" she turned to him, curious.

"How would you like to… spend the day together?" He wouldn't meet her eyes. "We could go to the Bard's College, see if they have anything new. Or maybe visit Odar for a longer chat this time."

"I'd love to," she replied, mystified by his strange behavior. She knew him long enough to notice when he was trying to hide something. This was not the first time, either. What was going on?

Before she could think on it more, she looked at her husband's sprawled form, with only a piece of blanket covering him from the waist down… and quivered. Deciding that she'll learn the great secret soon anyway, she stalked back to the bed. Suddenly, the privacy or lack of it was not as important as she thought before.

Not if she could get him to do that thing with his tongue again…

-iwwo-iwwo-iwwo-

It was a very disheveled pair that left their rooms at the Palace several hours later. Shagram even forgot to wear his helmet and gauntlets, in no small part because Erdi kept kissing him and he always responded by kissing back and running his hands all over her.

They didn't stay at the Palace for long. Odar's knowing looks were getting annoying, as was Jordis' giggling around mouthfuls of apple pie. So what if Erdi's neck was all bruised and covered in red lines from her husband's tusks? So what if Shagram's dreadlocks were pretty much sticking out in all directions from the way she couldn't stop grabbing them? They were mated, for Mara's sake! People shouldn't make such fuss over it.

The Bards had nothing new, as far as books went. It's only been a week or so since she last checked, after all. But they did have free time, so they spent most of it singing or dancing and generally making sure Erdi did not have much time to ask questions or think about her husband's secrets. Normally they spent their free days at the Skeever, getting drunk….

So, they were in on it, too. How in Oblivion did Shagram get them to agree to this? When?

"Are you enjoying this?" Shagram whispered into her ear as Jorn finished another drum solo and everyone started clapping.

"I am," she smiled slyly at him, "but I wonder when I'll learn what the big secret is."

Shagram's eyes widened, then he grinned ruefully, "Soon, beloved. You'll find out soon." He kissed her temple and put his arm around her shoulders.

Erdi snuggled closer to him and turned her attention back to the performance in front of her. They might have missed the reinstated Burning of King Olaf while they searched for the cultists, but now she had a chance to see the bards perform, mainly for her own benefit it seemed. All thanks to Shagram. He could be so sweet sometimes…

If she didn't know any better, she'd think Vile summoned a knight straight out of lady Monrius' books. The way he acted, the way he spoke, the things he did. All these reminded Erdi of her novels. She gave him a considering look.

"Shagram?" she whispered tentatively, not to disturb Lisette's rendition.

"Yes?"

"Did you ever read any novels from lady Monrius?" Hopefully he won't be insulted. Those were meant for girls, after all.

He tensed beside her. She heard his heavy swallow, then he whispered back, "Yes, I did."

She smiled. So it was true. "I thought so." She kissed his cheek and continued quietly, "You remind me of those knights so much it scares me sometimes. As if those books were written about you."

He wasn't relaxing. Was he still ashamed for reading them? She hoped not; it would be great to be able to chat about them with someone - there was no need to hide what he liked, not from her.

She decided to ask him about it, "Is something the matter?"

He took a deep breath, "Erdi…"

The door to the College opened. Erdi was surprised to see Jordis walk in. Her eyes found Shagram's and she nodded to him.

Shagram sighed in… relief? Then he smiled at Erdi, "Come with me, love. It's time to see the big secret."

Erdi shook her head in amazement. Jordis was in on it too? Did the whole city know, aside from her? She took Shagram's hand and stood up.

He gently led her outside, then turned towards the Temple. Most of the bards followed them out, as did Jordis. Erdi was about to walk further, when Shagram paused. Erdi stood beside him, mystified. What was the big secret then? She looked around.

They stood in front of her old house, Proudspire Manor. The one she had to sell to keep her freedom. She turned her eyes away out of habit.

Yet Shagram didn't go on. He reached into a small pouch at his belt and pulled… a key?

"We have a home now, love. One that you know well." He took a deep breath, "I bought Proudspire Manor. For us."

Erdi stared at him in shock. He bought… But… Her eyes filled with tears.

Then she jumped into his arms and kissed him for all she was worth.

She felt Shagram smile against her lips and kiss her back. The Bards started clapping and shouting happily. The whole world suddenly seemed brighter.

She was home.

-iwwo-iwwo-iwwo-

Two weeks later

When Erdi came home from her lessons, it was to an eerily silent house. She frowned as she put down her leather bracers, enchanted to help her with Restoration.

Learning Restoration might have been exhausting, but she found that teaching it was even more so.

It has been two weeks since they moved back into her childhood home and she couldn't be happier. Her life with Shagram now seemed more… real. As if they were truly married. Vile truly knew what he was doing when he summoned him to be her knight.

When Shagram noticed Erdi becoming depressed once he left on a mission too dangerous for her to join, he made sure to find people who wanted to learn restoration. People she could teach. Now she made almost as much money on her own as he did through his adventuring. There was a surprising number of people who wished to know how to heal themselves or their loved ones. And Erdi had a lot of practice and experience healing her Shagram.

Speaking of her husband, "Shagram?"

"Up here!" he called from the direction of their bedroom. He sounded… wrong. Nervous. Erdi frowned again and ran up the stairs.

She found him sitting on the edge of their bed with his head bowed. What was going on?

He stood up, clutching a couple papers in his hands. With a deep breath, he handed them to her, "I… want you to read this."

Erdi confusedly took the papers from him. Some kind of… manuscript? She looked at Shagram but he wouldn't meet her eyes. She shrugged her shoulders and started reading.

It was a story. The beginnings of one, at least. The words somehow sounded… familiar, despite the fact she was certain she never read them. It was… good. Very good.

In fact, if she didn't know any better, she'd say this was written by lady Monrius.

She gasped. Shagram still wouldn't meet her eyes. His fists were clenched by his sides and his head bowed, as if expecting the worst. "Shagram…"

"Yes?" He whispered through clenched teeth.

"Are you… Did you… did you write this?" She asked in a trembling voice. No. It couldn't be. No way.

He took another deep breath. "I did. Shagram gro-Moloth. SGM." He paused, then added in a voice so quiet she almost didn't hear him, "Silana Gemma Monrius."

"You… you are…" Erdi was speechless. The thought of denying it didn't even cross her mind. The style was simply too familiar to be written by anyone else. The time he left the Imperial city and the time of Monrius' last novel matched too... She was mated to her favorite author. But…

To think…. he knew. He knew the whole time she loved lady Monrius, yet he never said a thing. Did he not think her worthy of knowing? Her eyes filled with tears.

"Erdi…" Shagram lifted his head and saw her tears. He flinched, but still tried to reach for her.

She couldn't stand it. Not right now. Not like…

She ran.

-iwwo-iwwo-iwwo-

Once she started running, she didn't stop, couldn't stop, until far away from Solitude. When she ran out of breath and her sides hurt.

She sat down on a rock and cried.

Her mate and her beloved author were one and the same. The things she told him, the way she tried so hard to be an adventuress, to be a proper wife to him… How he must have laughed at her. To be summoned by a Daedra to become the knight he already was. Now she understood why Vile found it so amusing to summon him.

She never felt this embarrassed before. She opened her heart to him and he…

He opened right back.

Her shoulders relaxed as she calmed down. That was right, he opened up as well. Nobody could have faked the… love he gave her. And did he not come clean on his own? He could have hidden the truth - there was no way Erdi would have ever figured it out on her own, if he didn't tell her.

Her heart still hurt, but… would she do anything different if their roles were reversed? Would she have told the person who ripped her from all she knew? Or would she have waited until she was sure she won't be… rejected… again.

She winced as she remembered the story about his wife. His previous wife.

With a tired sigh, Erdi rubbed the back of her neck. There was nothing to be angry over, not really. It was actually quite amazing, that she was mated to the one person she admired ever since she was a weedy girl, growing up at the Palace. As soon as she came back home, they will talk about this and… make peace.

She sighed again, raised her head and looked around. Where was she?

Her eyes fell on the great stone mask next to her and a shiver of dread ran down her spine. Looked like she managed to run all the way to Vile's old shrine. She hugged herself and turned to leave.

"Erdi!" Shagram's voice reached her from a distance. He was running in her direction, dressed in steel plate again. He even put his old helmet back on.

She smiled bitterly; did he think either of them still needed that? Or was it because of the way she ran from him?

"Erdi, please. I'm sorry, I…" he started to talk as soon as he ran up to her. Yet before he could continue, they felt the air grow cold around them. It was with a horrible sense of foreboding that Erdi turned towards Vile's shrine.

The stone mask shook itself as if waking up from long sleep. Its eyes blinked a few times, then it 'noticed' them standing there. "Aaaah, my favorite servants," it grinned at them.

'As if he didn't know we would be here before we even arrived,' Erdi thought bitterly. 'Daedra and their tricks…'

The mask's grin grew wider, then it turned its full attention to Shagram. "Three years and a day since we first met. Isn't it, child?" Vile asked him conversationally. "I've come to check how… pleased you are with my gift. Did you enjoy the marvelous weapon I gave you?"

Shagram tensed and clenched his fists. "You tricked me," he growled. "I wanted to save my clan, yet they were already dead, and you knew."

The mask's grin turned malicious. "That does not matter. You wished to live and so you did. I have fulfilled my part of the bargain." Its expression turned sly, "Or do you wish to reject my gift?"

Shagram opened his mouth angrily, then paused to think. He looked at Vile thoughtfully. "If I do, I will no longer serve you."

The air around them grew even colder and Vile lost his grin. "Careful, mortal. I could rend the flesh from your bones before you could think of screaming. I have given you a gift and you serve me in payment."

Erdi shivered with dread, but Shagram wouldn't back down, "I've paid enough. When you take your gift away, the payments stop."

They both felt the gathering of Vile's power. Erdi clutched Shagram's shoulder, terrified. Yet before either of them could do a thing, the dog statue on its pedestal shook itself and barked.

"Oh, not you again!" Vile groaned, yet the air turned a bit warmer. "Alright, alright, give it back and you no longer serve me."

Shagram pulled the ever-present battleaxe from his back, pulled himself away from Erdi's desperately clutching hands and laid it in front of the mask. Vile clicked his tongue and the battleaxe vanished. Shagram breathed a sigh of relief, as if some huge weight fell from his chest.

Vile wasn't finished with them yet, though. His attention turned to Erdi, "Now, it seems your gift decided to take itself away without giving me a chance to ask. How rude. So," he grinned slyly, "Do you want me to give you another warrior to be your husband?"

Erdi stared at the mask in shock and felt tears threaten to fall. Did this mean Shagram will… leave her? He marked her! She was his! But… it seemed he wasn't hers… She hugged herself against the sudden cold she felt.

"I'll never want anyone else," she whispered. She saw Shagram startle in shock.

The mask snorted, then lost interest in her. "Suit yourself. I might have lost a servant," Barbas interrupted him with an admonishing bark and Vile made a noise of distaste, "or two, but I was paid, so all is well. Whatever. There are others who will gladly serve me." The mask sneered at them one last time, then it stopped moving and turned into plain stone.

It seemed Barbas had something to say, too, "Goodbye, little one, and don't worry. I'll make sure his attention is not on you. You know how it is with Daedric Princes; people to meet, bargains to make… He'll forget you soon. Good luck and thanks for the shrine!" With those parting words, the cold power… vanished. There was nothing but stone left behind, in either the mask or the dog.

Erdi was still shaking, despite the fact that the weather warmed when the Daedra left. She did not want to look at Shagram. Did not want to risk see him leave her.

"Erdi," Shagram approached her cautiously. He stood in front of her, yet he didn't try to touch her.

She had to swallow the sudden lump in her throat. Tears threatened to fall and she knew she only had a few words she could say before she couldn't speak anymore. Before he abandoned her. "Don't leave me," she whispered.

He sighed in… relief? Then his arms closed around her as he hugged her close. "No power on Nirn can keep me from you."

Her heart skipped a beat. She clutched him close to her and a smile spread over her face. Those words were familiar. She lifted her face from his chest and looked at him… only to be met with the sight of the cold metal of his helmet. She smiled ruefully and gently unbuckled the straps. She pulled it off.

His eyes widened in surprise when she stood on her toes to kiss him. It took only a second for him to get over the surprise and kiss her back.

The moment they parted, however, Shagram looked at her guiltily, "I'm sorry I didn't tell you before. About…"

"It's fine, my mate. I know," she touched his lips gently.

His eyes closed in relief. When he next opened them, Erdi gasped when she saw the look in his yellow eyes. It was… intense.

"Erdi," he swallowed shakily. "I love you and want to spend the rest of my life with you. Will you marry me?"

She gasped. Her lower lip trembled as she gave the only answer she possibly could. "Yes."

Shagram smiled at her and lowered his head to kiss her again. She eagerly met him half-way.

This kiss felt like doing it for the first time again. Her hands went to caress his face and she heard his growling moan of pleasure.

She had to have him, right now.

Her fingers started unbuckling his armor. Good thing she had so much practice from healing him. Shagram groaned and started unlacing her leathers in return. Once the top part of his armor fell away, she started working on his greaves, eagerly listening to his growling getting louder.

Soon enough, they both stood naked in the middle of the wilderness, their armor all around them. Shagram went to gently reach for her, but Erdi had different ideas this time. She pushed him to sit on a rock nearby, ironically the same one he sat on when they first met, then climbed onto his lap under his incredulous eyes. With a cheeky grin, she took him into her hand and watched as his eyes closed with pleasure.

His hands encircled her waist, then one dropped lower. His fingers found her eager and ready for him. He growled and kissed the marks on her shoulder. Erdi threw her head back and smiled when she heard him groan into her shoulder. She led his hot manhood to her entrance, then moved her hips to take him fully in.

His chest vibrated with a heated growl as he grabbed her hips in both hands and pulled her down onto him.

She grabbed his long black dreadlocks and held on as she started moving on top of him. The hands on her hips helped her raise herself and every time she sank down, he'd push up to meet her half-way. His growling was getting progressively louder and he clutched her harder and harder. He wouldn't stop looking at the marks on her shoulder and Erdi knew, she just knew what he wanted.

"Yes," he gasped and exposed her shoulder to him even more.

He groaned and started thrusting into her faster. The force of his thrusts now almost lifted her off him and she grabbed his shoulders to steady herself and accept his faster moves. She felt the pressure building up inside her and eagerly met her mate's thrusts with her own.

The moment the pressure turned into blinding pleasure, she squeezed him inside her and threw her head back. Shagram's tusks sank into her shoulder, holding her down as she rode her orgasm on his lap. She felt him tremble under her hands from the force of his own release.

The pain was not so bad this time. Erdi thought she might let this happen more often, if this was how much it pleased Shagram. Once his tusks gently extracted from her shoulder, she sent a weak pulse of healing magic into the wound. Shagram's purr when he saw the forming scar was satisfying on a completely new level. She smiled.

"That was… I don't remember my stories ever ending this way." Shagram turned his face to her with a content smile.

She snuggled up to him, laying her head on his chest, uncaring of the cold wilderness around them. "It's a special Erdi edition. I believe I enjoy them more this way."

He grinned at her, then started chuckling. At her questioning look, he waved his hand at the wilderness around them. "I just remembered… Vile did tell you to enjoy me as much as you can."

"That he did. Maybe he knew from the start how this will end. Because, you know what they say," Erdi grinned back. "If wishes were Orcs, Erdi would ride."

Shagram's happy laughter was the most beautiful sound she ever heard.

-iwwo-iwwo-iwwo-

EPILOGUE

Shagram ran alongside his Erdi. They've just dealt with the necromancer at Brittleshin Pass and both were looking forward to a night spent at the Bannered Mare.

"Help! Over here!" Hoggir shouted at them from Western Watchtower as soon as he saw them approach. The moment they came close, Hoggir tiredly leaned against his battleaxe, "Thank the Gods you're here. There's a Dragon flying nearby."

"What? A Dragon?" Shagram couldn't believe his ears. They both stared at him. Then Shagram gave him a suspicious look and sniffed the air around him, "Have you been drinking?"

"Hah! I wish I was. But no; the monster flew by from the direction of Helgen." Hoggir started looking at the sky. "A big, black bastard. I've never seen the like before. It circled the tower a few times, then flew away." He shrugged. "The lads are already relaxing… but I have a feeling it will come back. Just a hunch, mind you, but I don't want to be burned to death if… when it does. So… will you help us?"

Shagram and Erdi exchanged a look, then Erdi nodded and Shagram turned back to their old friend. "Certainly," he gave a curt nod.

"Thank you, friends," Hoggir's shoulders sagged in relief. Then he grinned, "This is the third time you're saving my hide. The Gods sure gave you the gift of good timing, eh?"

Shagram grinned as well, but any answer he could have made was interrupted by a roar. A horrible, deafening roar… of a dragon.

"Here it comes!" Hoggir prepared his battleaxe and Shagram did the same. He exchanged a look of pure disbelief with Erdi, when they saw the huge monstrosity land a few feet away. He saw Erdi pull her bow and run for cover. He sighed with relief and faced the Dragon head on.

That's when the dragon… spoke. "I commend your courage, mortal. Your defeat brings me honor." It grinned and breathed in… Shagram had no idea what possessed him to do it, but he jumped aside. At the last second, it seemed. The spot where he stood just moments before was burned to crisp.

"Get back, everyone!" He shouted at the trembling guards. Most of them ran back into the tower, pulling out their bows. Erdi was already shooting at it, but the tiny pieces of wood had no effect against the dragon's scales.

Even Shagram's blows barely caused any damage. His new ebony battleaxe might not have any enchantments on it, but it was still ebony. The strongest metal. If this was not helping, the guards with iron and steel weapons definitely won't bring it down.

One of Erdi's arrows buried itself deep in the dragon's… shoulder. Shagram narrowed his eyes. The scales must be thinner there. He swung his battleaxe and hit the dragon right where the neck met the shoulders. It howled in pain and turned its full attention back to Shagram and away from the guards.

The fight was a long and painful one. Despite his good instincts, Shagram got burned in several places and had bleeding gashes all over his arms when he barely managed to escape the dragon's teeth. Yet the dragon was weakening, too.

Shagram saw its head sag in exhaustion. Now was his chance. He swung his battleaxe down as hard as he could, leaving himself wide open for attack. But it seemed the gamble paid off. The battleaxe hit the dragon straight between the eyes and it roared in pain. As it fell, Shagram saw some strange light starting to form around it.

The dragon must have seen it too, for its eyes widened with horror, "No!"

It fell. The whole corpse started glowing… and the glow aimed straight for Shagram.

His eyes widened. Backing away didn't help; the glow followed him. Before he could turn and run, the glow… sunk inside him. He froze in place, gasping with shock, as nothing remained of the dragon aside from a pile of bones and scales. His eyes found Erdi's, who seemed just as shocked as him but… less confused. What was going on?

There was something… something inside his mind, where this thing settled. A very specific place. A memory. Memory of an ancient tomb he explored here in Skyrim; Dead Men's Respite. The glowing wall. The strange markings… a word…

Wuld.

Suddenly the ground under his feet shook. Heads lifted in shock and stared towards the tallest mountain, as all heard the call.

"DOV-AH-KIIN!"

The End

-iwwo-iwwo-iwwo-

OMAKE

(or scenes I couldn't resist writing, even if they don't fit into the story)

The new guard did his rounds in Solitude prison for the first time. The only person here aside from him was a withered old man covered in filthy rags.

He paused in front of the cell. It seemed this old guy has been here for a long time. Who was that?

The old man looked at him and spoke in a bitter voice, "Hello, I'm Erikur. But you can just call me Gisli's brother. Everyone does."

-iwwo-iwwo-iwwo-

"To Oblivion with it!" Bryling screamed, enraged. "Can no one in this damned city fix a stupid bookshelf?!"

'I knew it!' Erdi smiled to herself, picked up her old tools and went to help her fellow Thane.

-iwwo-iwwo-iwwo-

"Lately, lady Monrius' novels have become a bit… risqué, don't you think?" Gisli commented when she saw the new works on their bookshelf.

They did not look at each other.

...And they definitely did not blush.

-iwwo-iwwo-iwwo-

A/N: This was written as my NaNoWriMo challenge for 2014. Somehow, I managed to write 50,000 words in a month 0_o. I blame Zoop.

Now those two can live happily ever after in their fairy tale world of adventure and romance… while slaughtering dragons and undead armies and generaly having fun. Everything is a romance novel for them… but as long as they're happy, so am I :D