What If She Had Left?

Chapter 1

20 years had passed since the time of the Dragon's return. The Dovahkiin had slain Alduin, and had years later defeated the vampire lord Harkon, with the help of his daughter Serana and the Dawnguard. For the rest of his life, the Dragonborn protected Skyrim, though his enemies thought him to be heavily involved with the Thieves Guild and the Dark Brotherhood. Regardless, Skyrim lived in relative peace under the protection of the Dovahkiin and the Dawnguard.

Serana, one of the few remaining vampires, ironically decided to stay with the Dawnguard for a time, training them to defend themselves against her kind. Though, once the first generation of the revived Dawnguard had passed on, the new recruits turned out to be much more radical in beliefs and chased Serana from their stronghold, banishing her from the only home she had. She was not seen again for many, many years.


Blood. All she sensed was blood. It filled all of her senses completely. She saw it. She smelled it. She tasted it. The walls of Castle Volkihar were painted red with mingling splashes of blood. The red of humans, the black of vampires.

The attack was going as planned, though with more casualties than they had predicted. The Dragonborn had made his way off to confront her father. From her father's chamber, she heard the unmistakable howl of a werewolf, meaning that the Dragonborn had transformed into a much more powerful form for the final battle. She ran for the door to assist him, but she was too late. The fight was already over.

She opened the door slowly, afraid to see the outcome. She peered around the corner to see her father, standing over the body of a man with his chest ripped open, and holding his heart. His crimson eyes rose to meet hers, both sets filled with immense rage. His from betrayal, hers from love. Maintaining his gaze, he brought the heart to his lips and bit it, as though it were a ripe apple. More blood. Spraying on the walls, with a few small drops hitting her face. This felt different though. The blood wasn't warm, but as cold as ice. Then more drops from the heart. Defying gravity, they flew towards her face and made their painfully frigid impacts on her pale skin. Confusion and terror tore at her insides.

"This isn't right," she thought. "This isn't right at all!"