Well, hey guys. It's been a hell of a long time since my last update, but after over a year of virtually re-writing the whole of Quietus, I am finally back with a new (albeit short) chapter. I thank you all for your absolute patience during this process, and for your wonderful and everlasting support.
Before starting, I would highly advise you to go back and re-read the story again, in its entirety, because almost every chapter has been overhauled, and some of them rather significantly so. Nevertheless, the plot itself has not changed in any major way. The destination remains the same, so to speak. The journey to it, however, is a little different.
That being said, this chapter still makes sense with the originals, so if you don't want to go back to the beginning then you won't necessarily be confused.
Despite thorough proofreading, sometimes little mistakes slip through the net. These are all my own.
Once again, my sincerest apologies for such a long wait, and my eternal thanks for everyone out there still reading.
The world was the same, but it was as if she were seeing it now through different eyes.
Everything the Dragonborn knew had changed. Everything had become… more.
The picture of her surroundings was sharper, more vibrant, and tiny details she hadn't noticed before were now visible. She could see every fibre of the wood, each thread in a piece of fabric, every particle of stone. The furthest sounds and the quietest whispers were audible to her ears. Scents that lingered in the room, faint and unassuming, were easily detected.
She was all at once both amazed and utterly terrified.
All of a sudden, Rella found her senses were being overwhelmed. Voices crowded inside her head, the chatter incessant and loud. Colours blinded her, the brightness too intense for her fresh vision.
She shut her eyes and clamped her hands over her ears, desperately trying to block it all out.
"Rella."
A hand touched her arm.
"Look at me."
The familiar coolness of Serana's hand was gone, their temperatures at an equilibrium. The Dovahkiin lifted her gaze.
"Focus on me," she instructed. "Don't think about anything else."
It was easier said than done, but Rella did as she was told. Although her mind was racing, attempting to cope with the amplified external stimuli, she concentrated solely on the woman in front of her.
With Serana as her safeguard, the pressure on her senses receded to a level where she found herself able to think somewhat clearly.
"How do you feel?" Serana asked. She was sitting beside her, sheet wrapped around her torso, hand still resting in the crook of the Dragonborn's arm.
"Different," Rella answered honestly.
Serana smiled sympathetically. "You are."
The Dovahkiin rose from the bed and moved across the room with unusual swiftness to snatch up a small, handheld mirror.
The woman that stared back at her was, and at the same time was not, her own self. Several features of her face had changed, distinctly so. A set of blazing golden eyes had replaced what had originally been calm emerald. After some careful study, it became apparent her cheekbones were sharper and more prominent. Her skin appeared lighter, as if she'd spent some months shying from the sunlight.
"I look…" She couldn't decide for better or for worse. Finally, she settled for, "Odd."
"I don't know if I should take that as an insult."
"Don't," Rella said, lowering the mirror. "It's just… it's a lot to take in."
Serana nodded gently. "I know."
The silence gave way to the cacophony of voices again, with the Dragonborn unprepared for the assault. She braced herself on the dresser, gripping the edge of the wood with newly pale, strong fingers. "Please tell me this gets better."
Although she wasn't planning on spending the rest of her life as a vampire, the few days she needed to live as one she hoped wouldn't be too uncomfortable.
"It does," Serana said. "After a while, you start not to notice." She paused. "But… perhaps we ought to go somewhere quiet, until you've… adjusted."
"We might as well make for Morthal," Rella said, stooping to pick up her tunic amongst the clothes strewn all over the floor and pull it over her head. She hadn't even particularly noticed the fact that she wasn't wearing any clothes. "The sooner I'm human again, the better."
The words had just come out; she hadn't considered that what she was going to say might offend Serana. Hurt flashed across the older Nord's face for the briefest of moments, vanishing as quickly as it had come, but it didn't escape the Dovahkiin's notice.
"I'm sorry, I didn't mean—" she started to say.
"It's fine," Serana said quickly, forcing a smile that did nothing to persuade Rella that it was. "This was only ever temporary." She stood from the bed, dragging the covers with her, and retrieved her robes. "How is your shoulder?" she asked.
Rella had been so distracted by the enhancements to her senses, she hadn't even thought about checking her injury. It had been the whole point of the process, after all.
She rolled it back and forth and up and down: two motions that went unprotested. The true test, however, came when she hefted her bow and drew back the string level with her chin. It was effortless; any hint of discomfort, of the debilitating shooting pain she'd experienced, was gone.
She tried it several times – just to be absolutely sure – and when she was convinced it wasn't going to suddenly start troubling her again, the Dragonborn smiled broadly. "It doesn't hurt," she said. "It's healed. It worked."
"Good." The vampire was smiling back at her, her expression one of genuine happiness, but through it Rella could see that her earlier remark was still playing on her mind.
She remembered Serana telling her some time ago, during their travels, that turning a human into a vampire was a very personal encounter. She'd said it was one of the most intimate acts a vampire could engage in.
It was then she realised Serana had given something special she might have wanted to save, despite knowing of the Dragonborn's reservations. She'd thought of Rella and only of Rella, ignoring any and all of her own sentiments to help her. To have the younger Nord tell her she couldn't wait to be rid of her vampirism was to undermine all of that.
"What I said before…" Rella ventured. "I—"
"You meant it," Serana cut in, fastening the clasp of her torn bodice. She refused to meet the Dragonborn's gaze. "There's no use denying it." She began gathering their supplies, drifting past Rella as if she wasn't in the room. "And I have no right to be upset because you're right. You didn't want this. But there was no other way."
"Serana…" Rella stepped towards her, clasping her wrist to stay her movements. "I know what this meant to you." She placed a hand on the vampire's cheek, gently bringing their golden eyes together. "I wasn't thinking." She bowed her head, repentant. "Forgive me."
"You were my first," Serana spoke softly. Rella wondered briefly if she was referring to the lovemaking or the turning, until she said: "I've never made anyone a vampire before."
The Dragonborn brought Serana's knuckle to her lips. "Then I'm honoured you shared it with me."
She let her actions speak for her, then, and leant in to kiss her. At first, Serana didn't respond, but when Rella slid an arm around her waist and drew her close she surrendered, melting into her.
"Thank you," the Dovahkiin said when they parted. "Not just for… this," she shrugged her mended shoulder, "but for making me yours."
Serana was about to respond when both she and Rella became aware of a heightening sound in the distance. It was one they knew all too well – the steady beating of wings on the air.
"It's approaching fast," Serana said.
It would be upon them in seconds.
"We'd better go out and say hello," Rella retorted, snatching up her bow and slinging her quiver over her shoulder.
"Are you sure you're up to this?" the vampire asked, fingers wrapped around the handle of her dagger. She looked uneasy. "Perhaps you should wait until you're… acclimatised."
"I can't just stand by and not fight," said Rella, striding towards the door. Outside, what few townspeople there were in the entirety of Winterhold were shouting and screaming about the looming beast in the sky. "I'm the Dragonborn. I'll be fine."
The limbs of her bow felt at home in her hand. Her body thrummed with a new kind of energy.
This… this was going to be an interesting fight.