Full Summary: In the First Era a family accepts a gift that will put the fate of the sun in jeopardy. Years of distrust and hatred rip apart the parents, and through them, their only child: Serana. This is the untold story of the fall of the Volkihar Vampires.
A/N: If this story looks familiar to you… it probably should. I uploaded this a LONG time ago under a different title, but it was pretty trashy. This is it being revised after a couple years more experience is under my belt. So enjoy this adventure!
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~Written in Blood~
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I bent down, caressing the petals of the bright pink and white blossom. The tender leaves bent and swayed as soft hands brushed against them. The mountain flowers were perfect this year, as they had been every year as far back as I could remember. I leaned in, inhaling their scent: sweet, like honey; and yet wild, the very personification of nature.
The smell took my mind far away from the castle and its island. I wandered to the plains of central Skyrim, outside of Whiterun, where I was sure the mountain flowers, true mountain flowers, bloomed, as my books had always mentioned. I became Nature, flowing wherever I desired, no chains holding me back, no restrictions. I longed for that life which I felt that I never deserved, yet I was made for.
"Serana, dear, you should not be out this late in the day. Your blood will boil you alive!" The worrisome voice brought me out of my longings. Looking over my shoulder, I found my mother standing upon the balcony, beckoning me back inside the castle hurriedly.
I let the flower fall. Its stem swayed from its sudden burden. Scaling the steps, I could not help but take one more gaze behind me. I glanced around the courtyard, watching it bathe in the bright summer sun. Nature was more beautiful in the daytime, I was sure of it. At night it seemed to, along with everyone else, slumber. "I know, mother, but I couldn't help it. The castle is so dark," I answered, finally turning to her as I spoke.
She paused in the threshold of the door, turning her body to face me directly. "I know it is hard for you to accept, Serana, but you are a vampire. You were made to be in the dark." Her voice held no emotion as she spoke. It was as if she was merely stating a fact, rather than attempting to console her daughter.
"If you wished to be in the sunlight, you should not have accepted the gift," she answered passively, turning to continue into the castle. I followed, slightly hurt by her words. It was not as if I ever had a choice in the matter.
As a gatekeeper closed the heavy, wooden double-doors behind us, darkness enveloped me. The only thing warding off complete blackness was the large chandelier in the dining hall below us.
Mother stopped at the balcony overlooking the hall, her gaze ever haughty as she took in the bloody view that welcomed the unfortunate visitors to Volkihar Castle. Coming along side of her, my gaze was solely fixed on Mother's eyes. The intense red orbs held a sense of annoyance, but I was determined to not let that deter me.
"How could I not accept the gift?" I asked, breaking the intense silence. The question had many meanings, and we both knew it.
Her face grew stern, losing its graceful beauty. As her gaze met mine, her eyes alighted in anger, the red hues growing as a resentful ember. "No one forced you" was all she answered.
No one forced you. The words, however false, cut through my emotional barrier, barreling straight into my silenced heart. No one forced me? The question echoed through my being, slowly filling it with seething anger. If no one forced me, I would never have made the choices I did.
Despite the thoughts forming in my mind, the decades of lecture on grace forbid me from reacting. So instead, I merely stormed past her into the maze of hallways surrounding us. The castle was large, which was a blessing as well as a curse. It could make you feel like the ruler of the world, yet it could also make you feel completely alone. At times like these, however, feeling alone sounded fantastic. I could retreat to the farthest room of the castle, retreat to my own thoughts… retreat to solitude.
Rooms, chambers, and studies darted past me at an alarming rate. I needed to get as far as possible from the problems I faced. While that would do nothing to take them away, it certainly seemed to help me temporarily escape them.
As I stumbled past another faceless doorway, I caught sight of something that made me freeze mid-step. It was my own reflection. Finding that fact strange, considering only enchanted mirrors could pierce the veil of darkness surrounding us, my interest got the better of me. As I entered the abandoned room, I retraced my line of sight to find the culprit: a small pool of water on the floor in the room. I tilted my head in interest, and couldn't help but smile as my reflection did the same.
"Kynareth, you truly knew what you were doing. Nature can pierce any darkness, can't it?" I asked, shaking my head in amazement.
I stood above the water for some time, admiring the rare sight of my own reflection. I had not seen myself for years at the least, yet not much had changed in my past hundred years as a vampire, much to my indifference. I still appeared as a young adult, despite my age being much older than all mortal Nords. My hair had not dimmed from its vibrant ebony black, and my eyes were still as red as blood.
As red as blood. The words tasted bitter at the moment. My mind recalled their former color: bright green, just as the grass growing on the western fields, or as vibrant as the leaves on the new spring trees. A strange, small part of me wished to see them green once more, just for a moment, just to know they were still inside me—someplace. Just to know they hadn't been snuffed out.
Shaking the fruitless thoughts from my mind, I tore myself away from the pool. The thoughts I had just had making me ever more determined to reach my final destination in the bowels of the castle.
Choosing my turns, I ventured into an abandoned level of the structure. With the way memorized from years of routinely walking this very path, I arrived in a matter of seconds. I knew my current location to be a reading room of sorts, or at least used to be. Benches and chairs were scattered around the room, accompanied by tables with various books and papers. Lights stained the walls, leaving rays scattered, looking like a piece of abstract art.
The walls were lined with books and scrolls, yet I knew this could be no library: for the books were far too specific. They were not atlases or spell tomes. They were not recipes or histories. Each and every book in the room was a masterpiece, crafted with love, care, and much dedication.
Every book was a fictional novel.
And those hundred years ago, I had found this room in one of my first adventures. At the very moment, I told myself I would read them all, and done so I had. Or at least I was very close. Story after story I had taken from those pages. I lived out numerous lives and went on countless adventures. But in times like these, where my own life was just too much, living out a fantasy was all I asked for.
Letting out a sigh of relief, I brightened as I plopped onto my own, rather dusty chair and opened the book from the nearest table.
Nothing could get to me, here.
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~Written in Blood~
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A/N: And thus begins the story of Serana! I'll post the next (rather longer) chapter sometime in the next 48 hours. I hope you all have a fantastical day!