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As she rushed out of the room and down the hall, Ra'Jirra's mind was racing. Dar'Amon was back, but what mood would he be in? He might be here to say goodbye. And how had he found out where she was anyway?

As she got to the top of the stairs, she heard voices below, and the unmistakable high-pitched voice of Dar'Amon in Alfiq form was among them.

"Well," she thought, "so much for Alfiq anonymity!"

She decided to descend the stairs as calmly as she could. She would try to play it cool. But as she came down, she realized that Dar'Amon was angry and shouting - as well as he could given the limited capacity of Alfiq lungs.

"Where is she, damn it?! I swear if you snakes have hurt her, I'll..."

The sound of an argonian laughing followed. "What? What will you do little cat? Scratch us to death?"

Ra'Jirra saw that Quill-Weave's two sisters were standing guard at the bottom of the stairs, not allowing Dar'Amon to pass them. And he hadn't seen her behind them yet.

"She's a damn concubine of the Mane! You can't keep her here!"

"I told you, we're not keeping her at all! She's in a meeting with the Histess. Fiance or no, you're not interrupting her."

"But that was hours ago! Look, just tell her I'm here at least. Can you do that? Otherwise I'm going right out there and tell the guards that you're holding Ra'Jirra prisoner!"

The other argonian crossed her arms and replied in a low and menacing voice, "As I understand it, Mittens, this house is an embassy, and that means you are on Argonian soil here. You may have slipped past your own guards outside, but you won't pass us! Even your vaunted Mane has no jurisdiction here. As for being her fiance, as you just said, she's the Mane's concubine. How can you reconcile that, little cat?"

"It's... complicated," Dar'Amon's voice replied sheepishly.

"It is," Ra'Jirra spoke up. "Hello Dar."

The two argonians spun around. "Khajiit-mother. This... thing has been here demanding to see you. The Histess requested to be left alone with you."

"His name is Dar'Amon," Ra'Jirra said, adding a touch of scorn to her voice. "And he is my fiance, concubine or no!"

She turned to Dar'Amon, who now raced up the stairs and leaped into her arms.

"Dar!" she said, hugging him as much as she dared.

The two argonians looked at each other as if the sight had left a bad taste in their mouths.

"True love knows no limits, I guess!" said one of them to the other.

"Hmph!" Ra'Jirra snorted and walked between them haughtily, her nose in the air.

Dar'Amon mimicked her with his own little "Hmph!" which set the two argonians giggling.

She was about to open the door when the voice of Quill-Weave came from the top of the stairs.

"Khajiit-mother?"

"Histess," she responded, stepping back towards the stairs to be able to see the argonian.

"Will you return tomorrow? I would like to talk more with you, if you are willing."

Ra'Jirra looked down at Dar'Amon, then back to the Histess.

"No, I don't think so. My fiance has been away for quite some time. We have a lot of catching up to do. As you and the Hist have assured me, this meeting is pointless anyway. I'll not be worried about it anymore. I'll see you at the palace, Quill-Weave."

"Wait!" the argonian said as Ra'Jirra turned to go.

She came down the stairs quickly and stepped between her sisters.

"Speak to the Hist again," she said enigmatically. "About him."

Ra'Jirra looked at Dar'Amon, who was obviously confused, then back to Quill-Weave.

"I will," she said, and then turned her back on the argonians and left the house.

Outside, Dar'Amon took his accustomed place on her shoulder as she passed the khajiit guards and turned down the darkened street.

"Talk to the Hist?" Dar'Amon said quietly in her ear.

"Afraid I've got an awful lot to tell you, Dar. But first... I need to know where we stand, you and I. You've been gone a long time."

"Can we go back to the apartment?"

"I don't live there anymore. I have a room at the palace now. You want to come there?"

"The palace? Will they let me in?"

"If you're with me they will," Ra'Jirra assured him.

"Then sure. Let's go there, Princess."

"Hey, you don't have to call me that! But seriously, I need to know what you're thinking now. About us."

Dar'Amon cleared his voice, as if he had been practicing the speech he was about to make.

"I've been back for a while, Raj. I came to visit you at the palace once, but... you weren't alone."

"Huh?"

"Devline is his name, as I understand it. I thought you said he..."

"He is. Dar, he stayed with me a couple of nights. Nothing happened. He was lonely and I was lonely. That's all. What about you and your 'partner'? Can you say the same? I know the moons aligned while you were gone."

"They did. I didn't."

"Didn't what?"

"I didn't sleep with her, if that's what you're implying. Jeeze Raj, just because I become a Cathay doesn't mean I automatically have to bed any woman I see!"

"Oh. Sorry. I... well. I didn't know what you would do."

"She wanted to."

Ra'Jirra stopped and looked at Dar'Amon. His small cat eyes were wide and dilated in the moonlight.

"Raj, I don't care if you're a concubine. I found I can't stay away from you. Unless you tell me to. I shouldn't have left."

"When have I ever even..." Ra'Jirra said, getting angry now. It was, after all, Dar'Amon who had left her.

"You haven't. But even if we can't be married... even if you must lie with the Mane, I want to stay in your life. Somehow. If I can."

Ra'Jirra looked around. There were few people out on the streets at this time of night, but the city was never empty. She spied a bench in a small park a little way ahead.

"Hold that thought, Dar," she said as she entered the little green-space. Here, away from the torchlights of the streets, it was even darker and even the moonlight barely filtered through the leaves overhead. She sat on the bench and Dar'Amon jumped down to sit beside her.

"First," she began, "the Mane does not lay with his concubines. He is monogamous with the Prime concubine. Second, I would not be the only concubine that is married. I know of two that are married, and those are just the ones that allowed me to find out. It's not to be public knowledge - it wouldn't look good in this male-dominated society of ours - but the Mane doesn't mind."

Dar'Amon was looking at her now, his eyes shining.

"Are you still my fiance, Dar?"

"Absolutely."

They sat in silence for a while then, just looking at each other. Finally Ra'Jirra reached down and began to pet her fiance. He purred in response and climbed onto her lap, then stretched up to touch her lips with his own, lightly.

"Well. That's settled then. Just try not to get so angsty again, okay? You don't seem like you trust that I can love you, but I do. Do you think I'd agree to marry you if I didn't? Dar, we need to be inseparable. We need to trust in each other, even when we're not together."

"You're right," said the Alfiq. "I'll try to do better."

"Good. Now, when is the next moon alignment anyway?"

"Not for another month, according to my chart."

"Damn. A month! Well, I guess we can't exactly celebrate, but we're together again, right?"

"Right!"

"Okay, then let's get back to my room."

"Our room?"

"Our room," she agreed, and picked him up again as they continued toward the palace grounds.

"Oh, by the way, I sucked on an argonian's boobs today!"

"WHAT?!"

---

Back in her room, Ra'Jirra set Dar'Amon down on the canopied bed.

"Nice place," he said, pacing on the top of the bed while Ra'Jirra changed into a nightgown. "A little too much pink for me though."

"Well, I'm sure we can add a few masculine touches. I'll need to tell them about you tomorrow, but tonight, I've just got a new pet."

"Meow!" he said as she came back to bed and climbed under the blankets. She let him in with her.

"So that's what she meant about talking to the Hist," Dar'Amon said as he curled up next to her. "Do you know how to do it?"

"Yeah. Actually I think I do."

"Wish I could do that."

"I could make arrangements with the Histess."

"From what you tell me, it would be pointless unless the Hist agreed."

"Well, I can do that then. But if they do agree, don't you go all Scalie on me!"

Dar'Amon nuzzled her chest. "I don't think you need to worry about that."

"I'm glad you're back, Dar," she said quietly when he yawned.

"Glad to be back. Goodnight Raj."

"Goodnight," she said, and she closed her eyes.

But she didn't sleep. Instead she visited the new place in the back of her mind where the path to the Hist swirled. She spoke with them, as confused as that term was. And they told her something important. She communed with them long into the night, trying to grasp what they were saying. Finally, she felt she understood and left them. Then she opened her eyes and looked at the sleeping Alfiq beside her. She considered waking him, but decided against it. They had all day tomorrow, after all.