"No, don't put her in that!" Taarie shouted as she swatted the bolt of purple fabric from her sister's hands. "That does not suit her skin tone!"

Endarie huffed and picked the bolt up. "But just last week, you told one of our Nord patrons that she was just dashing in purple! And she had the same skin tone as this one here!"

"Oh, will you get it? I do not want this poor woman to have to wear a mundane dress for her wedding!"

I sat quietly in my chair, watching the Altmer sisters go at each other over silly things like cloth and ribbons. Normally, if I saw an Altmer, I would be instantly reminded of the Thalmor that killed my parents. But these sisters were so ridiculous, I couldn't believe they were from the same race as those Talos-haters.

Taarie let out an impatient sigh. "She's not wearing purple. You don't want purple, do you, Ylva?"

I shook my head timidly. I was never one for dressing up or looking pretty. I wore simple clothes when I wasn't wearing my armor. I preferred to spend my septims on good weapons than on silly clothes.

"See?" Taarie said, looking smug. "Now, I think that something warm, like a red or—"

"No!" Endarie threw her hands to her sides. "No, not red. It would wash her out!" She approached me and framed my face in her hands. "Hmm. What if we gave her something that brought out her eyes?" She took her hands away and looked at Taarie.

"Finally! That's the first sensible thing you've said all day! Something of the same color blue as her eyes. I think I know just the cloth. I'll be right back." With that, she hurried from the room, leaving me with her snooty sister.

Well, they're both pretty snooty, but that's an Altmer for you.

"Do you always fight?" I asked, just trying to break the awkward silence that had fallen.

"Not always," Endarie scoffed. "But she never seems to like my ideas. I'm surprised she actually agreed with me and didn't try to write it off as her idea." She crossed her arms and looked down at me. "Do you have any siblings?"

I shook my head. "Not by birth. My family was wiped out by Tha—" I stopped myself by forcing a cough. I didn't know if these women were alined with the Thalmor, and I would rather them not know that their kinsmen killed my parents. "... they were killed in a fire."

"I'm sorry for your loss."

She didn't sound very sorry.

"Thank you," I said nonetheless.

"Here we are!" Taarie said when she came back, carrying a bolt of beautiful fabric. It was the exact same color as a flawless sapphire; it even seemed to shimmer just like the precious gem.

"That's beautiful," I said. "I love it."

Taarie looked pleased with herself. "I have an idea on the style of dress. Normally, for wedding dresses, we make them look more Imperial, cut elegantly and slim. But I don't think that would suit such a Nord as yourself. Do you trust us to make you the perfect dress?"

I couldn't take my eyes off the fabric. It was so captivating. "I trust you."

"Good. Now, let's get your measurements. Your dress will be finished in a day's time. It'll be our top priority."

Endarie harrumphed. "Yes, but that's because we have no other customers at the moment."

Taarie glared daggers into her sister, then motioned for me to stand. She pushed my arms up and held them parallel to the floor. "Hold still."

She and Endarie worked fast to get my measurements. They even measured my feet and said they'd make special shoes for me.

"Yes, sister, we will outdo ourselves this time," Taarie said as they finished up. "And when your wedding guests see this dress, you can tell them that you had it made right here in Radiant Raiment."

I resisted the urge to roll my eyes. "Thank you very much for this. Now, if you're done, I'll head to the inn now."

"Yes. I will send someone to fetch you when your dress is done. It should be finished by this time tomorrow."

I nodded. "Thank you again." With the final farewell, I left the store and headed across the street to the Winking Skeever. An odd name for an inn. It didn't strike me as a place I would want to stay in.

"Come on in!" The man behind the bar said. "Plenty of rooms available."

I walked to the bar and sat down on one of the stools. I tossed the barkeep a few septims. "I could use a sweetroll right about now."

The man slapped the counter once and presented me with a fresh sweetroll. "Here ya are, lass. Freshly baked."

I took a small bite out of it and nodded in thanks. "What's with the name? Wouldn't 'Winking Skeever' scare off customers?"

"Well, as it turns out, as a boy, I had a skeever as a pet, and he used to wink."

"Hence the name."

"Exactly. Would you like a room?"

"Actually, do you have a room reserved for a Ylva?"

"Yes, I do. Fella came in earlier and rented the room out. Paid for two full days up front." He paused for a moment, a curious look on his face. "Ylva, like the Dragonborn?"

I nodded, and the innkeeper just smiled.

"We get all sorts of famous people in here. Don't want to make a big deal out of you being here. Besides, the fella who rented out the room said not to make a big deal out of it."

Oh, Vilkas. Thank you.

"Come. Let me take you to your room."

I stood up, eating the rest of my sweetroll on the way to the room. The innkeeper led me through the dining room, where a silver-haired bard as singing "Ragnar the Red." I didn't pause to listen long, following the innkeeper up a flight of stairs to a closed door.

The innkeeper dropped a key into my hand. "Here you are. Still got a full day's rent on it. Let me know if you need anything else."

I popped the last bite of my sweetroll into my mouth and gave the man a thankful nod. As he left, I stuck the key into the keyhole and turned it. I pushed the door open, already thinking of how good it would feel to fall into bed.

But those thoughts were abandoned when I saw my beloved sitting in a chair next to the bed, a book in his hands and a smile on his face.

"Well, hello, dear," he said, closing his book and standing up. "Have fun shopping today?"

I ran straight to him and hugged him tight. "What're you doing here?"

He returned my embrace, pressing his lips to my forehead. "My business took less time than I thought it would. I thought I could surprise you here. Were you surprised?"

"Yes." I pulled away from him, but I kept my arms around his waist.

He frowned and reached to touch my cheek. "What happened here?"

"Aela."

"Another brawl? This close to the wedding?"

"It wasn't a brawl. She just hit me."

He scowled. "Whatever for?"

"She was... angry. I made her angry. And she hit me. End of story."

"You didn't hit her back?"

I gave a mirthless chuckle. "Men may think that way, but women don't. Besides, your brother came to my rescue before I could retaliate."

"Good that Farkas did that, but Aela should never have hit you. You're Harbinger. I don't understand."

"I don't, either. But I couldn't talk to her. I needed to get here as fast as I could." I rested my head against his chest, over his heart. "I'll deal with it when we get back."

Vilkas sighed. "There's no point in dwelling on it, I suppose. It won't change anything."

I nodded, my head still resting in his chest. "Now, I'm hungry. How about getting some dinner downstairs?"

Vilkas laughed, the sound reverberating through his chest. "I like the sound of that. I'll—"

I pulled away and jabbed a finger to his chest. "Oh, no, you don't. You bought me the carriage ride up here, gave me money for my dress, and rented a room for me. You're not buying dinner, too."