A face, blurred as Rella came to, hovered before her. The throbbing at the back of her head and across her shoulder caused her to groan in pain, and when she tried to move she found her arms were trapped at her sides. The position she was in tugged at the puncture wound that had yet to heal, causing her extreme discomfort.
Cool air nipped at the skin left bare by her tunic; her cloak confiscated, along with her dagger. The chamber was dimly lit, made of stone, and silent, all but for the distant, faint rumble of the earth.
Rella had a horrible feeling she knew this place. She clung to the desperate hope that she was sorely mistaken.
"Hello, Dragonborn."
She recognised the voice instantly, along with the olive skin and fair hair that came into focus. Warm fingertips stroked her cheek; an action that might have been gentle and comforting had it not been for the rough nails lightly scratching her skin. Hazel eyes bored into her, lit up by a malicious smirk occupying a set of thin lips.
"Vex?"
Rella attempted to free her arms again, glancing down to realise they were bound with a thick length of rope. She became aware, then, that she was pressed up against someone else, back-to-back, and the cord stretched around both, tethering them together. She twisted her neck to see jet-black tresses veiling milky skin, her heart plummeting. "Serana?" She nudged her, but the vampire remained unresponsive. "What's going on?" she demanded, glaring at the Imperial.
"I told your friends at Fort Dawnguard I'd be delivering them a little present," the blonde replied coolly. "I'm sure you can figure out the rest."
"What, I—" Anger began to bubble in the pit of the Dragonborn's stomach. "I thought I could trust you!"
"Sorry, Dragonborn," said Vex, standing over her, arms folded across her chest. "The gold those Dawnguard pups were offering was just too tempting."
"You sold me out!" Rella snarled.
"No, I sold her out. There's a difference."
"I'll kill you," the Dovahkiin growled. She tried to summon her Thu'um, but couldn't muster the power capable of causing the Imperial any harm.
"I'm afraid you won't be able to do anything of the sort," Vex stated matter-of-factly. "I made sure to give you both strong doses of magicka and stamina poison. The only thing you'll be killing today is time, until the effects wear off." She paused, smiling with false sympathy. "In the future, you're welcome to try, however. Although, I can't imagine that would sit well with the Guild and the Guildmaster."
"And you handing me over to the Dawnguard for a measly bit of coin would sit well?"
Vex crouched before the Dragonborn, reaching out to brush the hair from her face. Rella jerked her head away, daggers in her eyes. "Well, not exactly," the blonde said. "But I'm sure if I were to tell Brynjolf about the feral creature you brought with you, endangering the lives of every single person inside the Flagon, he'd understand. I think he'd see that as a far worse betrayal than this one." She grasped Rella's jaw, forcing her to meet her gaze. "Because love or no, the Guild and its security – the safety of his recruits – is always going to be his top priority."
"I will pay you the same amount of gold and more if you just let us go," Rella muttered.
The blonde made a rather repulsive snort of laughter, standing up to pace back and forth in front of the Dragonborn. "Oh, Rella… you see, it isn't just about the money." She placed her hands on her hips, staring down at her. "Aetherius hath no fury like a woman scorned."
"What are you talking about?"
"I'm talking about the fact that you walked into the Guild a complete amateur and left with a senior rank and Brynjolf's favour in the space of five minutes," Vex snapped, shooting her a look of utter disdain. "You know nothing! You are as much an imbecile as Karliah was. And look how that turned out."
"I rightfully earned my rank!" Rella roared. "I did everything that was asked of me. If it hadn't been for my involvement you'd all still be working for Mercer. I deserve my position within the Guild. I worked hard for it!"
"Oh, yes. I'm sure you worked very hard for it in Brynjolf's bedchamber," said Vex.
"My relationship with Brynjolf had nothing to do with it," the Dragonborn bit out. "I've proven myself worthy, just like you and everyone else."
"You were still his favourite," Vex murmured, expression suddenly indifferent. "Even after he caught us together, he still gave you preferential treatment. The mind boggles."
"Because I was a good thief," Rella said. "And he knew it. He didn't let personal indiscretions interfere with his objective decisions; decisions that affected the Guild."
"It took me eight years to get a senior rank," Vex scowled, "And you managed to achieve it in a matter of months. It's absolutely ludicrous!"
"You might consider the fact that perhaps you're just not that good a thief," Rella sniped, glowering at her.
"You don't have a clue," the blonde muttered bitterly. "You're the Dragonborn. You have another talent; somewhere you can find success outside of the Guild. Me? This – thieving – it's all I have." She began to pace, her footsteps echoing throughout the chamber. "And when someone younger, someone prettier, and someone more capable than you swoops in and threatens to upset the balance – to replace you – then you'll understand why I felt like I needed to survive."
Rella absorbed the Imperial's words, letting them sink in for a moment. She and Vex had never quite seen eye-to-eye and they'd had their fair share of petty feuds during her time with the Guild, but she'd never anticipated for one minute that the blonde's contempt for her ran so deep. She couldn't believe that it all came down to a matter of simple jealousy.
"You have a problem with me," Rella finally said, "so you take it up with me. Leave Serana out of it. This has nothing to do with her."
"It is a shame I had to drag her into this," said Vex. "But without her, I wouldn't have had reasonable cause to purge you from the Guild. She's the… catalyst… if you will. It was quite fortunate, actually. I'd been wondering how I could get you out of the picture for some time. You did all the hard work for me without even realising it."
"You didn't have to go this far," the Dragonborn said. "Your standing within the Guild hasn't changed simply because I was granted senior status. I'm hardly even there anymore!"
"It's not just that. You're a Nightingale," Vex spat. "You! An inexperienced little whelp was allowed to become a guardian of Nocturnal. It's absurd!"
"Now you're disputing the decision of a Daedric Prince? This needs to stop, Vex. You can't blame me for choices that haven't been mine to make!"
"Perhaps not. But it's too late, now." Vex stopped her aggravated march and smirked, her attention focusing on something in the distance, beyond where the Dovahkiin was tied up. "Our time's up," she purred.
Rella began to panic, hearing the sound of footsteps drifting towards them. She struggled against her restraints, but the rope was wound too tightly around her middle. Serana still hadn't stirred. "Please," she begged. "You don't have to do this."
The blonde loomed over her, stooping so their eyes were level, the distance between them too great for the Dragonborn to be able to hurl her forehead into Vex's nose. She stole a quick glance over Rella's shoulder before plucking a lockpick from her belt, tugging the Nord's tunic down and slipping the cold strip of metal inside the bandages wrapped around her torso.
"Don't break it," said Vex, voice barely above a whisper. She straightened Rella's tunic and patted her cheek condescendingly. "Think about it this way, I get my money, and you get to save your leech and be the hero. It's win-win."
Rella didn't know in what sort of twisted universe Vex thought she was doing her a favour, but she said nothing in response. Though she wanted to yell and scream at her until her throat was raw, it wasn't going to make a difference. The blonde had already made up her mind.
Two Dawnguard agents came into view, neither of whom were Isran as she'd first feared. Rella recognised them as Tilde and Ollrod, both capable warriors from what she could remember of their assault on Castle Volkihar. But the fact that they were dealing with this transaction meant she had time.
They escorted Vex away, a brief exchange taking place out of earshot that ended with the transfer of a large pouch of gold from their hands to hers. The blonde then disappeared into the darkness, sparing not a single glance back at the colleague she'd deceived.
"Two birds with one stone," Tilde said as they walked back towards Rella. "Isran will be pleased."
Ollrod drew a blade as he approached, and for a fleeting moment the Dragonborn thought he was going to stab her with it. Instead, he cut the cord binding her to Serana. Before she had chance to rise up and attack him, Tilde snatched hold of her, roughly dragging her to her feet. She clamped down hard on her injured shoulder, evidently aware that she could debilitate the Dovahkiin if the need arose.
"Bind the leech," Tilde instructed.
Rella wanted to break free, but the stamina poison made her too weak to summon her Thu'um and her limbs too sluggish to fight. Until she regained her strength, there wasn't anything she could do.
Ollrod reached into a bag hanging from his belt, drawing out a length of silver chain and wound it around the unconscious vampire's wrists. The pale skin started to burn, the horrid hissing noise that accompanied it causing the Dragonborn to wince.
"Bring her to the dungeon," said Tilde, giving Rella a shove forwards to get her to move. "Separate cells."
"We should just kill her and get it over with," Ollrod muttered.
"Isran wants her alive," Tilde told him as he picked up Serana and slung her body over his shoulder. "He wants to deal with them himself."
She had time. She had a way out. Rella just hoped they wouldn't search her before locking her away. Without that lockpick, she didn't know if they'd make it out alive.
Tilde rammed the Dragonborn against the back wall of the cell and twisted her bad arm behind her back, ignoring her cry of pain. Ollrod fitted shackles around her ankles, the iron cold and cruel. Tears stung in Rella's eyes.
"Are you sure they'll hold her?" he asked. "She could use her… voice… to—"
"They'll hold her," Tilde replied, releasing the Dovahkiin's arm and stepping away. "Stop fretting."
Rella fell to her knees, hunching over in agony as the Dawnguard agents withdrew to the dungeon passageway, closing the cell door behind them.
"But—"
"She won't get out," Tilde asserted. "Look at her, she's weak and she's wounded. Even if she did manage to escape, she wouldn't be able to take both of us. Not in her condition." There was a pause.
"And the vampire?"
"She won't get out of those chains. We don't need to worry about her."
Rella continued to stare at the dank stone in front of her, listening to the people she'd once considered comrades. It was madness that they should imprison her; madness that they should condemn Serana for something that hadn't been her fault. After all she had done to help them in the conquest to stop Lord Harkon from carrying out his prophecy, they would repay her with death?
Isran had always been severe in his treatment of vampires, but he was taking it too far, this time. He was blinded by his hatred, and as a result, the company he commanded had become blind, too.
Eventually, the two recruits disappeared upstairs.
Without wasting any time – how much of which she didn't know she had – Rella fished the lockpick from inside the folds of her bandages and set about unlocking the manacles curled around her ankles. Her hands were trembling, either from the toxin still circulating throughout her body or from the anticipation that they might actually be able to escape. Twice she had to stop for fear that she might break it in her haste.
She took a deep breath, trying to calm her nerves. The second shackle took slightly longer to get out of than the first, but she succeeded.
The cell door proved more difficult. Her heart pounded as she twisted the pick inside the lock, each click of the tumblers inside filling her with both great relief and dread that the next would be the one to fail her.
When the fifth tumbler settled into place and the lock clicked open, Rella let out long and shaky breath.
She yanked the door open and began travelling the long corridor, looking for the cell that held Serana. The vampire was being kept in the one nearest the stairs, illuminated by a flaming torch on the opposite wall. She lay on her side, hands bound behind her, unmoving. The Dragonborn immediately set to work on the lock, whispering to Serana every so often in an attempt to rouse her.
It was when she was manoeuvring the fourth tumbler that the lockpick snapped, and Rella's heart fell.
