A/N: Any advice, comments and criticism is well welcomed.

xXx

II. In Silent Solitude

By the time Seven Honey-Maiden (a last name she didn't often tell for reasons of her own) had gotten out of Dimhollow Crypt, night had settled in and made its home in Skyrim's skies. The moons hung high in the sky. If she were to guess, Seven would say it was around midnight. She had gotten out with a few scrapes and bruises but it was nothing she hadn't handled before while training with the Companions. However; she knew by tomorrow morning she would have all kinds of aches in nearly every one of her muscles. Now, she was completely regretting the fact she brought no health potions. The two women not only fought several more draugr, but gargoyles. She hated to admit it, but Seven let out the most girlish high-pitched scream in her life and had nearly leapt into Serena's arms the moment those statues came to life. When Seven had asked about the gargoyles, Serena shrugged and guessed it was her mother.

Serena's mother was not in Seven's good books.

Arching her back, her spine cracked back into place. "Never doing that again," She mumbled.

"By the way, my name's Serena. Good to meet you."

"Good to meet you my ass." Seven grumbled, turning to look at the woman she had found. "Oh, I don't trust you. Oh, I don't recognise that name. I don't know how old I am" Seven impersonated Serena, quietly without gaining the vampire's attention, "Well, guess what, Princess. You're old…"

Seven knew absolutely nothing about Serena except that she had an Elder Scroll and was an extremely old vampire. Said vampire was looking around her, getting used to the cold, quiet wildlife that had probably changed since her time being locked away. Deep breaths were taken by the vampire woman. The night air was fresh and crisp. It was a relaxing clear night and perfect for the trouble minds. For example; Seven's mind. The werewolf knew nothing about the woman she was about to be travelling with. Save the fact that she fights with a dagger or magic, depending on what she felt like using and that she was a really old lady vampire. But what bothered Seven the most (despite the Elder Scroll) was the amount of vampires that were there. Why were the vampires looking for Serena? It couldn't just be because of she was one. Was it because of the Elder Scroll? Was that what they were looking for? But why would they want one? Sure, it would make pretty septim but she doubted that vampires were searching for Serena just to make a few extra coins.

Seven turned around to find Serena only to jump back and yelp when the woman was right behind her. Calming her racing heart, Seven sighed in annoyance.

"Please don't do that again." Seven said, "I hate it when people do that."

She hated it due to the fact that she continuously thought that someone from the Dark Brotherhood was coming for. She was always looking over her shoulder because of that fear. She had been paranoid the moment that the Dark Brotherhood was destroyed. She feared that someone would be looking for revenge. Because of that, Seven was continuously on her toes. It was a reason as to why she was always so tense while visiting the Thieves Guild.

"Sorry," Serena apologised, "Let's get moving shall we?" She began to walk, Seven walking beside her. The wind was blowing from behind them, making their hair blow gently around their heads.

Seven glanced over at Serena. With her hair blowing around her face in the gentle wind of the night, she bet that a passer-by would have mistaken Serena for a ghost. And probably mistake Seven for some wild wanderer.

"Before we go to this home of yours," Seven started after a while, "I need to stop by a city. It's not far, I assure you but I need potions and a new outfit." She paused and looked at her feet, "One with shoes, preferably." Speaking of shoes, only now did Seven realise how cold her feet felt—the wolf blood within her not helping. There were times where she hated having Imperial blood within her. Her grandfather was an Imperial who married a Nord. They had her father who also married a Nord. The dark hair and the dislike of the cold ran through her father and into her.

Serena looked at Seven's feet and saw the slightly blue toes barely poking through. She gave a light airy laugh. "Of course, though I would like to get home quicker, you should probably dress appropriately. And get something to keep your feet warm."

"Why?" Seven laughed as they headed up the hill. But the word appropriately questioned itself around her head, "It's not like I'm meeting a king or anything." Serena said nothing. "I'm meeting a king, aren't I?" She groaned. She did not have a good history with rulers. She had a falling out with Balgruuf the Greater, Ulfric Stormcloak and Galmar Stone-Fist were thrown into a cell all after the war had finished. And since then, she's been hiding from Jarls who wanted her as Thane. Jarl Elisf gave her the space she wanted. At least one Jarl was kind enough to leave her alone. With a sigh, Seven's arms fell back to her side, "Alright. To Solitude we go."

"Solitude?" Serena asked, curiously with a pinch of excitement. "I used to be able to see the Blue Palace from the balcony back home."

"Well, Princess," Seven smirked, "Here's your chance to see it up close."

"Welcome to Solitude," Seven said arms out stretched, gesturing to the empty streets of the city. Her arms dropped, "Let's go."

It had been a while since she had been back in Solitude. She grew up in this city. She knew every hidden spot and every secret entrance. She joined the guards when she turned eighteen. In a way, she had joined just in case her mother was caught fencing for the Thieves Guild and the needed the Guard to turn a blind eye. She would have been that blind eye had her mother not been killed during a sweep job gone wrong. Her partner for the sweep managed to get out with a few scraps and cuts. Seven was a guard for four years before she got caught up in the Imperial Legion ambush. She had simply been making her way to another Hold to deliver a message when it happened. She supposed she was lucky that it wasn't an overly important message. That's what she got for not wearing her guard armour. She left the Solitude Guard after finding out what she was. Stupid dragon blood, Seven had mentally cursed at the time. In the end, Seven had joined the Thieves Guild that her mother had fenced for.

Walking to the back door of Proudspire Manor, she opened the door, Serena entering first. Before Seven, herself, could enter, someone called out to her. Wondering who was out so late at night, Seven turned to face the one who called out to her.

"Illdi?" Seven asked , surprised as the shy woman came to a halt in front of her, "What are you doing out so late?" Seven absolutely adored the Nord in front of her. When Illdi first came to the college, she had been very shy. She was still shy but not as much as she had been when she first came. If there was any reason to come back to the college, the reason was Illdi.

Illdi grinned, she held out her hand. In her hand was a flute. "I thought it was you coming down the street." She replied, ignoring Seven's question, "I figured you wanted your flute back since leaving it here with me. I've kept it in good condition. At least, I think I have." Looking at the flute that she gave to Illdi for safe keeping, Seven slowly grabbed the flute from the young woman in front of her using her uninjured hand. "When are you coming back to the College?" Illdi asked, gently.

"One day." Seven promised, "Goodnight, Illdi. Thank you." Seven stepped inside and closed the door after seeing Illdi off.

Like her mother before her, Seven was also a bard. She's been a part of the college for as long as she could remember. The College had celebrated her becoming a guard with a small party for her and her parents. They had played every song Seven had learnt to play and sing. Her mother taught her how to play the flute before she died. The flute in her hand was given to her by her mother. A last gift. Though, technically her father gave it to her but it was her mother who had made it and told her father to give it to Seven if she were to die. He kept to his promise and that was how Seven came into possession of the flute. Though, she hadn't been back to the College since the last festival of The Burning of King Olaf.

She felt a hand touch her shoulder. It was not from surprise that Seven flinched but the sudden cold that seeped through her clothing. He felt like ice was seeping in through her skin, freezing everything within her. Her head snapped up to see Serena's glowing eyes. Seven wondered if they glowed in the dark.

"Are you alright?" Serena asked, her hand retreating to her side.

Seven nodded with a small tired grin, "Yeah, Princess. Of course I'm fine." She stepped forward. "Come. Let's go get you a better dagger." She walked up the staircase.

"What's wrong with the dagger that I have now?" Serena asked, frowning lightly. The fact that Serena has had the dagger since she was old enough to wield a weapon and being told she needed a better dagger was slightly insulting.

Seven stopped and turned to face the woman behind her. She gave a grin, "That letter opener? No. I have something better." Again, slightly insulting. Once on the main floor, Seven headed straight for the kitchen, dropping her satchel on the table. Opening a low cupboard, she reached in and pulled out an ebony dagger while also pulling out a potion and gulping it down. She felt her hand no longer pulse with pain. Whatever that button was, made sure that neither her dragon blood or her werewolf blood would heal the wound. It was official, she hated buttons. Seven flipped the dagger into the air and caught the blade itself. She held it up in the air for Serena to take. "Since you like daggers on the occasion, here. This might be more effective than your current dagger. I'll be right back." She stood and headed upstairs to get changed leaving Serena to her own devices.

Closing the bedroom door behind her, Seven slid to the ground with a huff. She buried her face in her hands. The last time she had been back in Solitude was for the occasional quest she had to do that involved being in there. She never stopped to take a break. In and out. Just like a heist job. That's what she'll do once this whole ordeal is over. A nice relaxing heist job before going back to killing vampires or something.

Well, Sev, whadda ya gonna do? She thought, sliding her face out of her hands and looked around her room. Pulling herself up off the ground she headed towards her closest. "Baby steps, Seven," She muttered, "Baby steps."

She opened the cupboard and looked at each set of armour she had to offer herself. There was her Thieves Guild armour, her Legion armour, her old Solitude Guard armour, her fur armour that she refused to wear for it was itchy, her armour of the Old Gods (a gift from Madanach ), her scaled armour that had some enchantment that she was yet to identify on it and her Saviour's Hide armour. Every time she saw it she always thought of Sinding. There were times where she regretted killing the man but who was she to go against the one who blessed her with the beast blood? Well, technically it was Aela but that wasn't the point. When she wore the Saviour's Hide she always got this weird feeling that someone else was watching her fight whatever beast it was that she was fighting. She would feel proud when she defeated people who would seek harm on others or angry when she robbed someone. However, it was not feelings that came from her but from somewhere else that Seven could not describe. Grabbing her Thieves Guild armour, she got changed.

Going to the chest on the other side of her room, she pulled out Dawnbreaker (a sword that has saved her life many times but blowing up whatever it was that she hit) and attached to her hip. She looked down at the glowing mace that laid in wait. Seven shivered. Normally, she brought it along just for the sake of it. It's enchantment that often came in handy also scared many people off. It made everyone that saw it uneasy. It made Seven uneasy. She thought about bringing it along but decided against it. However, she didn't need a house of vampires being uneasy because of it. She slammed the chest closed.

Seven ran her fingers through her hair as she walked back downstairs. Pulling the hood up over her head, she felt safe. Like no one would recognise her. But the unfortunate truth was that they could. They would recognise the armour. They would recognise the power in her eyes. They would recognise her scars that danced down her cheek. Anything about her, they could probably recognise. But the feeling and the idea that no one could was a comfort.

"Serena!" Seven called as she walked down the stairs, "Grab some potions from the large cupboard." She filed out into the kitchen, grabbing her mall satchel. "We've got a long night ahead of us."

And a long night it was. Travelling away from home with an ever small chance of not coming back once again, made the night seem to go by slowly. And as they trudged over the hills to the overly cold beach behind Solitude, the two women were attacked by three spiders, a bear, a random skeleton that confused Seven to no end for it had come out of nowhere and for no reason and a sabre cat. To which Seven had yelled out; "I hate cats!" After that, Serena kept a good distance between herself and the werewolf for Serena's companion was grumbling under her breath about killing the nearest thing if they came across another sabre cat.

But it was not Serena that Seven killed when another sabre cat decided to play. In fact, it an Altmer in a fort that was normally hidden in the harsh snow storms of Skyrim. Now, Seven was sure that the arrow that hit her in the shoulder was supposed to be for the sabre cat (well, she liked to believe) but that, apparently, didn't give them the excuse to shrug their shoulders without an apology. Using Serena's old dagger, Seven threw it at the elf that had shot her. Because it was her left hand (for her right arm had gone completely numb), it hadn't been a particularly good shot to which Seven was sorely disappointed. But it got the job done. However, after that, the women were running away from the rain of flying arrows. To which, Seven had yelled out to Serena; "This is why I hate cats!"

"There it is," Serena had said, once they reached the beach. She turned to face Seven who was still trying to pull the arrow out of shoulder in a way that would hurt less. Both were tired from the running and fighting the wildlife. Seven's shoulder pulsed with pain but had refused any help that Serena had offered. Seven's pride and stubborn attitude got the better of her. "That's my home. Castle Volkihar."

Seven looked up from the arrow in her shoulder and down at the row boat and then the castle on the other side. She looked back at Serena.

"I'm not rowing," Seven said, shortly. She ripped the arrow out of her shoulder.