A/N: What? New chapter? That's right. Sorry it took a million years, but I was busy being published. That's right! I'm PUBLISHED! I have coauthored the book All The Pretty Things with Rae D Magdon, and it is available for download from amazon to any electronic device that supports kindle (any household computer, for example). If you like what I write, or just lesbian romances in general, it might be worth a try! Just make sure to include Rae's name or my pen name (Michelle Magly) in the search. And if you don't wanna read it, that's fine, too. Here's some fanfiction for you. Regular updates will resume, I promise!

Chapter Four

They walked along the northern coast for hours, tromping through the frozen tundra with no sign of coming anywhere near the place Serana described. Diana had asked her to take the lead once they hit the water's edge. The vampire would be able to follow the water until she started recognizing landmarks. Already she had paused and squinted several times at various ruins. Diana wanted to ask if she recognized any of them, but her words stuck in her throat every time she tried to strike up conversation. Serana seemed content with the silence, and would only glance over her shoulder every now and then to see how Diana fared. The look she tossed from underneath her cowl was enough to make her blush every time, though the bitter cold hid this reaction quite well.

Stop this nonsense. The small voice in her head was very critical of her newly-discovered feelings. It's not like you can take her back to Jorrvaskr and introduce her to the pack. There was also the growing panic that Isran would hunt her down with the help of the Silver Hand if she got any closer to Serana.

"There it is, up there to the north." Serana's voice broke through the quiet. "We used to keep a boat around here to get there and back."

Diana glanced up and saw an extremely run-down boat launch. The wooden dock had crumbled long ago and sunk partway into the ocean. They advanced slowly as they skirted the towering walls of an aldmeri fortress. Diana frowned as they approached the jetty. When she took her first creaking step onto the dock, she stopped, staring down at the boat as if it were a daedra.

She felt the warmth of Serana standing next to her and shivered. "Um... this is the part where people usually get in the boat," Serana teased. Diana still did not move. "You with me?" she asked, her voice softer.

Diana blinked and turned to look at Serana. She did not want to get on the boat, or rather her inner wolf did not want to give up Serana so quickly. "Yeah, let's go," she said. The vampire smiled softly at her and they climbed into the rickety little boat. Diana feared it may fall apart before they actually reached the castle and kept glancing nervously for leaks in the bottom. Serana laughed and she looked up at the woman.

"Relax, it's enchanted," she explained. "Watch."

Diana stopped fidgeting where she sat long enough to notice the boat was drifting away from the dock and into the dense fog of the north ocean. Her heart hammered for several seconds while they drifted blindly on the water. "Please tell me we're not going to be lost at sea," she said, her stomach already churning at the thought.

"We're passing through a barrier. We'll be home soon." Serana reached a hand down into the water and let her fingers trail through the icy liquid. The actions sent ripples across the otherwise still surface and Diana looked away. "Are you all right?"

"I hate boats," she answered. Something about the sea and its endless depths, not to mention unbearably high swells during storms, were enough to make Diana untrusting of anything to do with the ocean. She never got on a boat if she could help it.

Before Serana could say anymore, the boat nudged against the grainy surface of a shore, and Diana glanced behind herself to see a towering castle rising in the distance. She swallowed and scrambled out of the boat, craning her neck to get a good look at the massive structure. "This is where you live?" she asked.

Serana got out of the boat and stood next to her. "This is it. Home sweet... castle." The both of them chuckled softly. Diana glanced at the vampire and saw her forehead creased with worry.

"Why didn't you tell me it was so huge?" she asked, though she thought she might know the answer.

Serana shrugged and looked away. Diana thought she could see a faint hint of red on her cheeks. "I didn't want you to think I was one of those... I don't know. A woman who sits in her castle all day?"

Diana laughed and Serana's blush deepened. "I don't think I could ever get that impression from you," she said. But the vampire still looked somewhat saddened.

"It's just... coming home to a place like this, it's not me, if you can believe that."

Diana almost said, "So don't go there," but resisted. Keeping Serana around any longer was a bad idea for more reason than one. Instead, she shrugged and said, "Well, let's get it over with." She started up the path, but a hand on her arm made her stop. She glanced back at Serana and tried to ignore he sensation of her skin tingling under Serana's grip.

"So... before we go in there," she said.

Diana turned and faced Serana once again. "What is it?" she asked.

Serana looked away, showing off the delicate angle of her jaw and slim, smooth neck. "I wanted to thank you for getting me this far. Once we're inside, I'm not sure what will happen, but I think I need to go on my own for a while." She paused and met Diana's gaze with her own fiery eyes. "I... I'm sure some of your friends would not hesitate to kill everything in there." Fear made her voice tremble slightly. "I hope you can show some restraint," she said.

The way Serana emphasized 'restraint' made her recall their incident at camp. She nodded and placed a hand on Serana's shoulder. "You've given me no reason to distrust you thus far."

Serana smiled finally, a genuine smile. "Well, let's get this over with, then." Although she exhibited a casual demeanor, Diana could sense the tension building in Serana. Her shoulder muscles were coiled too tightly and her steps no longer had a natural rhythm as they approached the daunting castle. They walked up the main bridge, passing large stone gargoyles that leered down at them. The portcullis had been raised and a guard stood beside the massive wooden door. He put his hands on his hips when he saw then, sword ready to be drawn. Diana started to reach for her weapon, but Serana motioned for her to stop. She lowered her cowl and the guard gasped.

"After all these years," he muttered, his arms lowering away from his weapons. They walked past him, though the man watched Serana intently. "Lady Serana is back. Now isn't that something."

She ignored him and tugged the wooden door open. Diana took a deep breath and followed her into the dark castle. The door shut behind them with a clang. The front room they stood in looked worn down and decrepit. The tapestry under her feet was threadbare. She could hear the clang of plates and the chatter of dinner gossip in a dining hall up ahead, but a lone vampire stood guard in this room, glaring at them like they might be his next meal. "Who dares trespass here?" he asked. The high elf reached for his axe, but faltered when Serana stepped forward. She still had yet to utter a single word, but this man reacted similarly to the guard out front. I've gone in way over my head. Diana might have known this was the case if she had not been too busy fighting every urge to do illicit things to Serana. "By the gods... Serana, is that truly you?"

She nodded. "It is."

"Lord Harkon will be thrilled to hear of your return," he babbled. Diana glanced over at her, expecting to see some indication of royalty. Way over my head. He walked out of the entry room and onto a balcony. "My lord! Everyone!" he shouted. The chatter stopped. "Serana has returned!"

A hush fell over the dining hall. "I guess I'm expected," said Serana. She nodded in the direction of the balcony, and they walked out together, standing over a massive hall filled with men and women sitting at elegant wooden tables. Diana inhaled the scent of the hall, and immediately regretted it. The stench of human flesh and blood filled her nostrils and the wolf in her released a low growl from deep in her chest. Serana placed a hand on her shoulder. "Easy," she whispered.

Vampires. They were all vampires, and they stared up at Serana and Diana with such shocked expressions. One whispered, "I can't believe it."

Serana nudged her in the direction of the stairs and they walked down them together. Diana's heart threatened to burst. her eyes widened and she kept glancing from the vampires to the flesh on their tables and back to the vampires. "My long lost daughter returns!" said a man. He stood from the front table and walked around to the center of the dining hall. He looked like a lord in that he dressed the part. His flowing robes and neatly-fitted red cape outclassed anyone else's attire. His trimmed beard and slicked-back hair gave him an air of grace that was only offset by the menacing glow of his eyes. Serana's father, then, was Lord Harkon. "I trust you have my elder scroll?" he asked, meeting them in the center of the hall.

"After all these years, that's the first thing you ask me? Of course I have your scroll." Diana cast a sideways glance at Serana. She did not appear to be happy, though she had said she preferred to come home to her mother.

"Of course I'm delighted to see you." His voice dripped with disdain, and Diana understood why Serana might have preferred her mother. "Must I really say the words aloud?" Serana did not rise to the bait, so Harkon continued, "Ah, if only your traitor mother were here to see this reunion." He grinned and glanced at his fellow vampires. "I would have made her watch before putting her head through a spike." Harkon turned his attention to Diana. She had to fight hard not to let her wolf form overcome her. Every instinct screamed at her to tear this man's throat out, but she managed to show restraint, as Serana had requested. "Now tell me. Who is this stranger you have brought into my hall?"

"This is my savior," Serana said defiantly. Diana's eyes widened. Oh no. I am not getting any further in the middle of this. As much as she disliked Harkon at first glance, she could tell he was powerful and did not want to go up against him and a room full of vampires on her own, let alone be made into a target. "The one who freed me."

Harkon turned to Diana and offered her an insincere smile. "How like a dog to play fetch." Diana suppressed a growl, though Harkon only seemed amused at her anger. He studied her carefully, perhaps trying to size up the threat she posed. "For my daughters safe return you have my gratitude. Tell me your name."

"I am Diana," she answered truthfully. It would do no good to show distrust and fear right now. That would only translate as a display of weakness. "And you are?" Though she had already figured out who the vampire lord was, there was something equaling about demanding a person's name.

"I am Harkon lord of this court." He gestured to the people seated at the tables. "I'm sure my daughter has told you what we are."

Diana nodded and tried not to inhale the thick scent of blood. "You're vampires."

"Not just vampires. We are amongst the oldest, most powerful vampires in Skyrim. For centuries we had lived away from civilization and its cares." Diana doubted the truthfulness of that statement. "All of that changed when my wife stole away what I valued most." He looked back at Serana. Or was it the elder scroll?

"What happens now?" Diana asked. She very much wanted to leave, but did not want to leave Serana with Harkon. Though it was her decision to return to the castle and confront her father.

"You have done a great service, wolf, and now you must be rewarded. There is only one gift equal to the return of an elder scroll." He stepped forward. "I can smell Hircine's claim on you. It's a waste to see someone with such promise bound to a lesser Daedric Lord. I offer you my blood."

Everyone in the room watched her. She wondered if they would attack once she turned down the offer. She wondered if Serana would turn against her or defend her. Perhaps she would do nothing at all. "And if I refuse?" she asked, preparing herself for battle.

Harkon sneered. "Then you will be prey, like all mortals. I will spare your life this once and banish you from this hall."

Well, that is certainly charitable of him. Diana looked at Serana, but she would not meet her gaze. She looked back at Harkon who smiled at her knowingly. Something about the man's gaze suggested that he could read minds, or at the least was well-practiced in manipulation. "I refuse. I will not take your blood," she said.

"Then you are prey, mortal," said Harkon. Diana glanced back to Serana, but she had already begun walking away to join her fellow vampires at the table. "You will be hunted down like the dog you are, along with the rest of your kind. I banish you from this hall."

Diana watched Serana leave her. She wanted to say something, to tell her to get away from this insane man, but Serana never glanced back. A ball of light consumed her, and she felt her stomach pitch as she experienced weightlessness for a brief moment before slamming into the cold, hard ground of the shore outside the castle. Diana groaned and picked herself up off the tundra and looked back at the ancient structure. She had just returned Serana to her father, a clearly insane ancient vampire now in possession of an elder scroll. I let a beautiful woman get in my head, and this is what happens. Diana knew Isran would mock her upon her return, and possibly banish her from the Dawnguard for such a failure. She climbed into the boat with shaking limbs. Her head still reeled from being projected out of the castle. After a failure like this, she deserved no less than banishment. That was the thought that would haunt her all the way back to the Fort Dawnguard.