*hides* I am sorry I have been gone, please have this extra-long chapter! I love you all for every follow fav and review even if I don't really reply :D.

I stood from the table, blue eyes moving to zero in on the far wall where Serana had moved to stand after Babette had begun her normal menstruation of vulgar jokes and jibes. I let a brief smile flutter across my face at the thought of the little she demon. The girl had some real issues and it seemed to be Nazir's job to deal with them. The Redguard had somehow still not discovered the reason for his constant headaches and dizziness. I wrinkled my nose at the thought of drinking Nazir's blood. The man ate far too many spices and even his blood smelled of garlic. However, with a pained smile I reflected that my newfound hate for garlic problem came from Vincent's with his strange allergy to it. Nevertheless, I shook all such thoughts from my head as I moved over to Serana.

She managed a thin smile at me as I leaned against the wall next to her. "Yes?" She asked her voice polite if not a bit outdated.

"I was wondering if I might ask you some questions of a personal nature." I said, mimicking her tone and regal wording though from her unfazed look she hadn't noticed.

"If I may pose questions of a similar nature then yes, I would be glad to answer." She said her orange eyes fixed on me as if I had just offered her a cup of rare daedric blood. I had a sinking feeling that I would regret the terms but curiosity night had killed the cat but satisfaction always brought it back right. "Of course it would be unfair to expect you not to be curious." I smiled as her face lit up and I heard hiss that might have been an excited squeal if her mouth was open.

"Ask me something and then I shall ask you something." She said her eyes gleaming. I was almost certain she knew what she planned to ask and would not hesitate to ask it.

"How did you meet my brother?" I asked as we walked through the dark hallways of the sanctuary.

I noticed her pause and a blush bloomed across her face, I raised an eyebrow, and she smiled, her eyes receiving a dreamy cloudiness that I had though she was above "He saved me." She began and I groaned, that was so very typical of my brother "my mother locked me in a cave so I would be safe from my father and well I was asleep for a long time, Landerath broke the spell and returned me to the living. He... understood my confusion and knew how to explain everything to me." She paused "it was as if he had done it before." I swallowed and inhaled a deep breath that my dead kings did not need before looking at the raven-haired vampire. "Is that what you wish to know, or is there something else you planned to ask." She smiled at me at least this one looked real.

"I wish to know this." She nodded.

"Well despite being turned at the beginning of the first era I spent all of the second and most of the third asleep. I woke up right before the oblivion crisis." I said with a slight smile.

"I see," she said her face thoughtful and she looked at me expectance in her sunset eyes and I realized I had to ask her another question.

"Did you want this life?" I asked putting great care into the question and the way I phrased it.

"In what respect?" she murmured but her pose remained ever straight and firm.

"Did you wish to become a vampire?"

"Yes." she said, "Did you?"

"No, it was forced upon me." I said my voice firm in confidence. Serena frowned and looked at me and I could see her weighing the information behind her too open eyes; I had opened up several more doors for her to go through, each path with a different set of gains and losses.

"What are your plans? With my brother that is." I asked

She stiffened for a split second "I do not understand what you mean to ask." she deflected

"Yes you do, Serana you can't possibly ignore the fact that he is mortal now, and a werewolf, while you are an immortal vampire."

"I...I don't know, he said he would go back to the life of a vampire if I so wished it of him but… I know he does not truly want to and I could never ask it of him yet you are right."

"You didn't answer my question." I said after a moment's silence.

"My plans, well I guess my plans are to live and love him for as long as I can." she said her voice almost challenging. I raised my hands in a gesture of peace; I had not meant to rile her in any way. We walked down one of the uncharted corridors of the sanctuary, in silence and I could feel the tension coming from her. It could not have been clearer; whatever it was she was burning to ask unnerved her. After mere seconds of the unbearable silence she blurted out in a, from what I had gleaned of her so far, very un-Serana like fashion. "How where you turned?"

Of course I could act surprised that Serana had asked this question but it would be a lie. How had Lilium been made into some sort of bloodthirsty monster? Serena must have seen the darkening look on my face and with a rushed breath added, "I...do not expect you to answer that if you do not wish, I after all would not reply if the question was posed to me."

"It's fine." I said my voice wary. "I was turned by a girl, Lamae, was her name. We… were friends before she changed. There had been a rumor of her," I paused knowing how this could strike a chord with Serana "of her rape. She was supposed to be dead, but she wasn't in quite the way everyone believed. She sought me out, and I foolishly would not have realized anything was wrong if not for the intervention of Akatosh." I hesitated to share the next part but I had opened the floodgates and there was no closing them now, I didn't have the work force or the tools.

"He spoke in my mind seconds before she turned me, causing me to move away and avoid her for a few more minutes. It was just Lan's luck that he came up just then he was just a boy and his stupid boy instincts told him something was wrong. I distracted her and told him to run. When she returned she knew that I must have suspected something amiss and she turned me on the spot." I finished with a grim smile. but I had tired of this dance of questions all of this, no matter how weighty it might have gotten, was not what she had planned on asking me. "Why don't you just ask? I promise to be truthful."

At least now she didn't even pretend to not know what I was referring to "Vincente, what happened with you two?" ah there was the question I had expected from the start. Her bluntness was refreshing in contrast with her deliberate avoidance of the topic.

"We... I have no idea." I said my stance firm and eyes set ahead. I was not in the habit of looking weak or in showing any disquiet over any question.

"Did you even love him then?" she asked blatantly and I balked.

Then I exploded "Did I love him? Sure!" I snapped waving my hands in the air.

"As much as you can love someone who you spend one divine forsaken night with before some vampire with big ideas and little brains decides to kidnap him to get to you because somehow in his twisted little dead mind he figured out you know things he needs to know in order to rain chaos on every living and nonliving person!" Serana flinched at that but I was too busy with my rant to care how she felt.

"To make matters worse, you've returned to your own undead status and the person you love is," I groped for the words but they eluded me. "Something." I finished my voice taking on a broken tone.

"And you're not sure if he's upset because of the undead part, or because you hid it from him sort of. On the other hand, maybe it's from some other reason that hasn't even crossed your mind because you're too busy trying to rebuild your home. Of course after days of work your werewolf brother is trying to get you to drink blood, which he knows makes you go into crazy monster mode and you'd much rather die but you haven't thought of a way out of it." My voice reaching new levels as I fixed her with an accusing glare.

"Then to top it all off the same stupid vampire that put you in the mess has a daughter that is in a relationship with your brother and has just made you spill every thought in your head for her along with everyone you live with to hear." I finished my voice a snarl.

Her face had fallen into an emotionless mask that served to fuel my anger; however, her mask was not perfect. Her orange eyes were focused on the wall, as if the stones had somehow offended her, the stance of her body said enough for me to see the rage inside if the slight narrowing of her eyes that most people would hardly even notice. "I apologize," she gritted out and I felt a thrilling feeling of satisfaction. However, a low grumble interrupted the short high and I turned to see my brother looking at us in utter disbelief. I regretted my words but nonetheless they were true. I almost wanted to add that 'personal' questions didn't exactly include question how someone might feel for another. I hadn't asked her if she was sure that she loved my brother but the look on said brother's face quieted any last few biting words.

I watched Lan with rapt attention as he took a deep steadying breath before turning to look dead at Serana. The women had lifted her chin in defiance as if she was just daring him to tell her what to do. However, if I had stopped and considered it I would have realized how much sense it made, her father had been a bit on the controlling side, and it would be the last trait she would want to see in anyone. Lan met her glance calmly and moved over to murmur something in her ear. She opened her mouth to protest but the low growl that I heard rumble from his chest silenced her immediately. Nevertheless, she still had a choice and she knew it, my brother didn't command, he proposed an idea.

After she left the room he strode over to me, the look on his face could not have been more disapproving. He stood before me his blond hair sticking up at odd angles and his light blue eyes staring at me intently. "Do you want to talk?" he asked and his voice was gentle. I wanted to snap and tell him that I needed no help and that I certainly didn't need to talk about feelings. However, the tiredness in his eyes gave me pause. I elected to give a more elusive answer that was considerably less harsh "Do you?"

He smiled at me and my heart broke a little at the way his face didn't light up like an excited puppy's would. "I think that's what prompted your little," he flashed a smirk "outburst."

"So what, are you going to slap my wrist and tell me to be a good girl now?" I rolled my eyes.

"That doesn't like to bad of an idea actually, if I didn't think that would just encourage you and your rebellious streak." He said.

"Right," I started "Because you're so much better."

"Sister you wound me, again!" he mock cried.

"Mutt." I said smiling slightly. Whatever I had been planning to add to that was lost in a wall of warm skin. For a moment, I went ridged in my brother's embrace before I gladly returned it. He still smelled like cinnamon, or more to be precise, sweet rolls but it worked for him. "If you're not careful I might decide to change that to puppy."

"Are you implying there is something wrong with puppies? Farkas would be aghast!" He smirked. I laughed remembering the large friendly man.

"I'm sorry for what I said." I started, I didn't want there to be bad blood between us. There were enough differences already. I small sheepish grin that crossed his face made me cross my arms.

"Is there something you would like to say?" I asked him one of my eyebrows raised.

"Nope." He said trying not to make eye contact.

"You are the worse liar." I informed him.

He sighed, "I know. Would you be surprised to know that I actually bribed her-"

"To set this up and get a reaction out of me?" I guessed my other eyebrow raising. He nodded and flushed red. "One question." And instantly his face fell "What on Nirn did you bribe her with?" I asked. The sigh of relief from him was almost comical. He muttered something but I could not believe it, "what did you say?"

"I bribed a daughter of Coldharbor with sweet rolls."

Damn Landerath.