"Welcome home, dear," Mother said, gesturing to a dark entrance on the side of a snowy mountain. It was eerie—but nothing I was not used to by this point in my life, given the circumstances.
I bravely (or so I imagined) led the way into the darkness, being glad, for once, of my undead status. The welcoming chamber looked as rundown and dark as I had imagined when first being told my new residence would be a crypt. It was almost pitch black in the majority of the space, but what I could make out was this: the room was oval in shape, with a metal grate leading who-knows-where stationed at the far end. Three stone columns supported the stone roof of the structure, and while it looked natural—it also looked sturdy. A small waterfall poured from a hole in the otherwise-solid ceiling, forming a pool in the center of the room. The ground was covered with snow, doubtlessly blown in the cave from the strong winds outside, but what areas weren't covered were stone, dirt, or mud.
"Home sweet—cave," I mumbled.
Mother chuckled. "This is the cover-up. Ravla told me there is a hidden passage somewhere on the far wall. We had best look."
As I started in the direction of the wall, I could not help but notice a few signs that someone had recently been here. Any skilled tracker—or simply a very keen eye—would know that someone had been in this very cave, and been in it often. A recently dimmed candle stood on a column to my left, it's wax still dripping; an overturned wooden bucket, in perfect condition, floated in the small pond in the center of the room; and a Dragon's Tongue flower (which require a great deal of care if not kept in hot conditions) sprouted from a single beam of light—all plain signs of habitation.
Shaking my head at the carelessness, I glanced down at my feet to avoid falling into the pool. My interest was piqued when I saw what was at my feet. A clear pathway was trod from the entrance of the cave, followed the left wall past the metal grate, and continued to follow the wall around to my right. I could not see where it stopped, but I assumed it probably led to this secret passage.
The trampled snow and dirt led me to a small staircase leading to an elevated platform. A wooden chest, a small wooden table, and a half-melted candle (whose wax was, once more, still dripping) occupied a small room. A large, open window gave a perfect viewing of the cave's entrance.
"A guardhouse" I assumed with a frown. If this was the place Mother had deemed 'safe', I was no long completely sure about this…
I shook the idle thoughts from my mind as my gaze fell to the walls. If I could find simply a crack in the wall, an air-vent, or even—
I let out a laugh at the simplicity of the design. A half-rusted, crude, iron pull-chain hung before me on the wall. The upper end of the chain was imbedded in the stone walls of the cave, obviously being connected to a doorway or gate somewhere near—or maybe a trap. Giving the metal ring at the lower end a slow, hesitant pull, I cautiously glanced around me as I waited for any sign of change.
A low, grinding noise was the only response I got that told me the chain had even worked. I gave a victorious nod once I was sure the noise was not hostile. Descending from the guardhouse, I looked around the cave in order to find Mother and tell her of the recent developments.
I found her down below in the center of the main chamber, near the pool rippling from the tumbling waterfall. As I approached from behind, I took in her stance, trying to decipher her thoughts: she had her left hand on her hip while her right was rested on her chin in thought. Before I even made my presence known, she spoke:
"This just will not do, not at all," she mumbled, turning to face me.
I nodded my understanding. "I agree. The hot wax from the candles, the Dragon's Tongue flower, even the bucket in the pool: all far too obvious. Oh, and do you know what the 'secret entrance' is hidden by, Mother? It's a pull-chain—an ordinary, completely conspicuous chain. If Father gets w—" I paused, silenced by Mother's confused stare. I was obviously babbling on and on about something completely unrelated to her thoughts. Fidgeting my fingers nervously, I looked down at the floor before speaking. "You…. Weren't talking about the chain, were you?"
Mother grew a soft smile. "No, I can't say I was. I do agree with your observations, though. What I was thinking of, dear, was the fact that we're only one day's walk from Castle Volkihar. If your father saw what direction we ran, he could be here before nightfall tomorrow. We need—we need a plan of action, Serana." She started pacing the welcoming chamber, her head lowered in thought. "We need to go somewhere your father would never even think to look…"
I paused a moment, not sure where this was going. "What are you saying, Mother?" Where else could she possibly want me to go? Father had a seemingly infinite amount of resources and contacts, if he truly wanted to find us, then I had no doubt he would. Out-running was not going to happen, so now she wanted to hide? This was not a child's game of hide-and-seek. Mother kept making it sound as if we were both in mortal peril.
This was survival.
She frowned as her pacing came to an end. "Don't worry, Serana. I will think of a place. For now, we should go and meet our new hosts." She motioned me deeper into the cave, past where the metal grate had once stood at the far end of the room. I supposed that was what the metal chain had accomplished. "Shall we?"
I absent-mindedly nodded and once more led the way into the darkness. I would still follow, at least for the moment. She could lead me around blindly for a while longer, and I would try to pry some more details from her. I was determined to not be a pawn in their little game. I had been once before, but no longer…
"Welcome to Dimhollow, My Ladies. If there is any way we can be of service, you need but ask." A slim, kind woman bowed as she spoke. Her hair was a dark brown, seemingly black if she entered a shadow. I imagined her eyes to be a light, cobalt blue if she were not a vampire, but as it was they were the same as the rest of ours: a deep red, the color of blood.
The rock walls of the cave had gone from a jagged, natural form to a smooth, homely atmosphere quite some paces ago, and, doubtlessly due to some sort of ventilation system, the air had turned a lot clearer and lighter. It felt as if we were back in the halls of the castle instead of deep underground. Despite the lack of décor, it was a very comfortable welcoming area.
Mother inclined her head in response. "Thank you, madam. My name is Valerica, and this is my daughter, Serana. We are very thankful for your kind hospitality."
The woman turned to face me, the fabric of her long, red silk skirt billowing from the movement. "A pleasure, Milady."
I flinched at the expression, but remembered my manners and nodded with a smile. 'It is not as if I have anywhere to go, Milady.' The laughter-filled words echoed through my mind from four weeks previous. That moment had been the last time I had been called 'Milady' (the rest of the court merely calling me Lady Serana), and it still hurt to know that the odds of my seeing him again were getting slimmer by the minute.
Layden's laugh had been the one thing I had missed above all else the day before. We had set up camp when we could not walk anymore, finally collapsing in the early afternoon. Lying on the grass in a small, dry patch amongst the marshes surrounding Morthal, I watched the sky darken from a bright blue into a deep orange, and finally black. It was the first day that I had not talked with Layden in over two weeks. My only comfort had been gazing at the stars above and watching the moons spin about each other as if practiced partners in a ball-room dance. Although the moons were largest, the brightest stars yellow or white, the heavenly bodies that stood out to me the most were two small, dimming stars. The only two dark blue stars in the sky—the same color as his eyes.
I shook my head from my deep thoughts to see the kind woman gone, and Mother staring at me worriedly. "Are you well, Serana dear?"
I immediately nodded, but I knew my actions deceived me. I could feel the disconcerting air that surrounded me; I had a feeling it would be just as visible.
Contrary to my expectations of being questioned further, Mother just gave me a last, concerned gaze and turned back to the arched path leading out of the foyer.
