Recap:

The land looked familiar, but unfamiliar. My thoughts were interrupted by the thick stream of blood that dyed the pool of water around me. I ripped off a piece of cloth to use as a tourniquet. My vision began to fade.

"Hello? Is someone out there?!" The voice throbbed in my ears but I couldn't respond. A dark figure appeared at my feet. My body became heavy and slumped against the tree.

Chapter Start:

The sound of wood crackling in the fire made me come to. Beads of sweat slid down my dirt covered face, but my skin was cold and pale.

"You're awake. I'm sorry, but this is going to hurt."

I looked over and saw a young man tending to my leg. He didn't give me much time to react before he poured acid, I mean "medicine", on my open wound. He frowned apologetically when I groaned in pain. My fists clenched the tattered blanket that covered me. A warm light emanated from his hands and surrounded my leg, slowly closing the wound.

"Thank you." I mumbled, shivering.

He couldn't have been much younger than I was. Both his hair and eyes were light in color. He gave a small smile, washed my blood from his hands, and pulled a heavy fur blanket over me.

"You're welcome. I'm sorry I couldn't fully heal it. Restoration isn't my strong suit." He chuckled in embarrassment. "There's a warm bath in the corner if you wanted to clean up, but please rest as long as you need." He motioned towards the corner of the room. "My name is Desmond. You can call me if you need anything. I won't be far." He gathered the bloody bandages and headed for the door.

When the door opened, a man was leaning against the wall with his arms crossed. A dark leather hood shadowed his face but I could make out his gold glowering eyes. His armor was strikingly similar to the Thieves Guild attire. Desmond closed the door behind him before I could form any theories.

"This is a mistake, you don't know who she is." The man whispered, scolding Desmond.

"I couldn't just leave her like that. I'll talk to her and then take her to city. They can help her." Desmond replied. I waited until their footsteps faded down the hallway.

Once the coast was clear, I made my way towards the bath. The warm water washed the dirt, blood, and sweat from my skin. After rinsing the grime from my armor, I ran my fingers through my red tresses, and got dressed.

Though Desmond was kind, his companion was not as welcoming. I took the hint and began to gather my belongings.

"Do you have any idea who it is?" A woman's voice echoed down the hallway.

"No. I've never seen her before." Desmond replied. Quietly and carefully, I left the room and closed in on them.

"Does it matter? We need to get her out of the picture. It's just another problem that we don't need."

"What if she knows something?" Desmond asked.

Who are these people?

"Wait…" The woman interrupted. "I know you're there. Show yourself."

The room went silent and I walked out from the shadows. When I looked around the room, Desmond was with three others. My eyes caught a pair of familiar golden ones. This time, he wasn't wearing his hood. He looked up at me, slightly dazed, but his expression quickly turned into a glare. The woman had dark hair and dark eyes, she appeared to be an Altmer, likely to be affiliated with the Thalmor. Perfect...just what I need.

"Well well, what do we have here? You didn't tell me that you hired entertainment." The last of the group was a tall burly man. His head was shaved and his brown eyes were scanning my body. He smirked at me and then at Desmond. "I approve."

"Wait...Bjorn, that's uh-..." Desmond motioned towards him.

"I just wanted to thank you. I'll be on my way." I gave Desmond a small smile and turned to leave.

"Wait just a second sweetheart. We have a few questions for you." Bjorn caught my wrist and pulled me back.

My eyes darted towards him and I tried to release my arm from his grasp. His grip tightened and he pulled me into him, tightening his arm around my neck.

"Bjorn!" Desmond yelled and everyone stood up.

"I'm warning you, let go of me!" I yelled, but his grip only tightened.

Before they could act, I reacted. My left hand clenched into a fist and made contact with his groin. Bjorn's head lowered in pain and I brought my elbow to his chin. His grip released and I took the opportunity to grab the dagger from his belt. He groaned as I twisted his arm behind his back and kicked the back of his knee, forcing his leg to bend. Bjorn collapsed to his knees and the cold blade rested against his neck.

"Don't move!" Everyone stopped in place. The other man clenched his jaw. My grip tightened on Bjorn, causing him to groan in pain. "Don't even think about it!" I glared.

"Wait! Hold on!" Desmond threw his hands up in submission. "Please, don't hurt him. We just wanted to talk to you. Please…" He pleaded.

"Then talk." It was tempting to run, but I could see the gentle nature in his eyes. Desmond helped me, the least I could do was listen. I also couldn't deny that prolonging this asshole's pain was enjoyable. Bjorn struggled against my grip but to no avail.

"We don't want to hurt you. I just wanted to ask you a few questions about my sister."

"Desmond!" The other man yelled in protest.

"She might have seen her." Desmond yelled back and his eyes returned to me. "Did you see a woman? She has light eyes and hair, like me. She's around your age."

Confusion set in. I expected bandits, or maybe Thalmor spies, not a missing girl. Bjorn's arm tensed and my grip tightened. He growled in frustration.

"Wait, what? No, the only other person I saw was Se-" The panic began to set in. Serana...was she hurt? "There was a woman with me. What did you do with her? Where is she?"

"A woman?" Desmond confirmed.

"Yes. She has short dark hair and gold eyes."

"No, you were the only one out there." He replied. The Altmer looked at me suspiciously. It was at that point that I realized, her eyes weren't dark, they were completely black.

"You look familiar, what is your name?" She asked.

"Ashe." I lied. She didn't respond. "I have to go. My friend is still out there." I released Bjorn but kept his dagger.

"Wait! You can't go out there alone!" Desmond yelled.

"Clearly she's capable of defending herself." His friend replied, annoyed.

"So was Ysara." Desmond frowned in frustration. "Please, we can take you to the nearest city, but you can't go out there alone. Your friend is most likely gone."

"What are you talking about?" My brows furrowed.

"Many locals have gone missing. None of them have been found." His eyes lowered. "My sister Ysara, among them. She's been missing for nearly a year. When I found you, I thought you might have been her."

"I-..." My eyes softened. "I'm sorry. I didn't see anyone else out there. It was just me and my friend."

Desmond let out a sigh and sat down. Bjorn cautiously stepped away from me, comforting his "jewels".

"Thank you for your concern, but I should go. I've already caused enough trouble. Good luck in your search." I dropped the dagger to the floor and quickly ran out the door.

My leg throbbed as I distanced myself from Desmond's cabin. Over a mile out, I turned to make sure I wasn't being followed. The coast was clear. Good…When I turned, my relief turned into dismay. The Altmer woman stood only a few feet in front of me. Her black eyes glared at me from under her hood.

"Who are you?" She asked and stepped forward. "What are you?"

"I already told you, my name is Ashe." I tried to back away to distance myself from her, but she stepped forward. Why did I throw away the dagger?

I was far from helpless, but the last thing I wanted to do was shout at an Altmer. I didn't know where Serana was. I didn't know where I was.

"I'm not a fool. I can smell it in your blood. You're not a normal human, maybe not even human at all."

"You're a vampire." I gasped in realization and relief. "My friend, Serana, do you know her? Have you seen her?"

"How do you know Serana?" She stopped in her tracks, stunned but on her guard.

"She was with me, right before Desmond found me."

"You must be mistaken, Serana hasn't left Volkihar for decades." She replied.

"Wh-...No, she was with me last night. She's been traveling with me since we defeated Harkon."

Once again, confusion took over. What the hell is going on!? What happened to me last night? My head began to ache.

"Harkon?! What is your name? Your real name?" The look on her face was curious, but cautious. She knew something that I didn't.

"Ember."

"Ember? As in the…" She paused.

"The Dragonborn."

"That's impossible…" Her eyes widened in disbelief and she stepped back.

"I don't understand."

"What year is it?" She asked.

"It's 5E 2, 18th of the Last Seed." I muttered, slightly annoyed at her irrelevant question.

"Astonishing. How did you get here?"

"What? No, tell me what the hell is going on!" I was done answering questions. It was her turn.

"You don't know..." She was taken back by the dumbfounded look on my face. "The year is 5E 100."

My stomach dropped.

"What…?" I whispered.