A woman in Skyrim can get in a lot of trouble in two years. Joining a group of mercenaries with a moonlit secret, joining a guild of thieves with their own lady luck, or going to a school of magic only to end up running all three for example. Yup, not only am I the Dragonborn, I am the Archmage of the College of Winterhold, Harbinger of the Companions, Guildmaster of the Thieves Guild, Leader of the Dark Brotherhood Assassins, as well as a former werewolf, a champion of many daedra, a Nightingale of Nocturnal, Listener of the Sweet Mother, and Thane of all the holds in Skyrim. I have also joined the Imperials out of feeling a debt to Hadvar and guilty for assassinating the Emperor. I've been pretty busy to say the least.

After the fight with Alduin, I finally read Tarkas's letter, which wasn't a letter but a warning. Apparently, his father pissed someone off and they made a contract against the whole family. Adopted members included. So I went to Windhelm due to the rumors of a boy contacting the Dark Brotherhood. I posed as one of the assassins, made the kill, and stroke a deal with the old leader when I got caught. My services in exchange for my family's and my safety.

A lot went down and to make a long story short, I was given a promotion. There are perks when you are the only one who can talk to an ancient corpse. I keep the Brotherhood running, but I also use them to gather information on my aunt and her movements. Due to the fact that I didn't have enough eyes out there, I joined other groups to gain trust and ask them to do the same. It was just a happy accident that I ended up leading them all.

Being Thane however, was just all the Jarls' way of saying thanks for helping their citizens. Because of my title, I have a house in every hold. I mainly use them as rest spots when I travel, but I've had my family use the ones that are built outside of the holds. My housecarls were surprised at first, but because of their pledges of loyalty to me, they never say a word about any of my family to anyone else.

Over the two years my family and I have bonded more than any of use could have hoped. Tracking down Varania is no picnic and we're hardly closer to finding her than we did two years ago, but no one is giving up. And now with all my contacts, we'll hopefully find her and her people sooner rather than later. In fact some of her people have joined and been turned into vampires. Figures that blood mages getting turned into blood-sucking monsters.

Due to this knowledge, I'm now in the Dawnguard. A group of individuals who want to fight vampires. When I first joined, I wondered why I never heard of them before. It was apparently because they disbanded a few years before I returned to Skyrim over some disagreement or something. I didn't pry and I didn't care at the time. Because I was the first to join, they sent me on several missions that could have been considered grunt work or too much to handle for a first time vampire hunter.

Including the mission that started it all. Priests of Arkay, god of burials and funeral rites, were slaughtered by vampires who were looking in a cave near a Hall of Arkay for something, or rather someone, important. I went in and killed all the vampires to find what they were looking for. A woman who appears to be my age, but is clearly a vampire. Her name is Serana and she is practically a vampire princess who wants to stop her father from blocking out the Sun.

Why? Other than her having family drama? It would be bad for both sides, vampires and mortals. If they kill us all, they end up starving and a balance is tilted to the wrong side of things. The Dawnguard has charged me with finding out how to stop Serana's father, Harkon, and has given me a few side missions on the way. Through it all, Serana has been a big help and a true friend. Also because I, like a fool, stuck my neck out for her when Isran, the leader of the Dawnguard, threatened to kill her, figuratively speaking.

I never thought I'd trust someone like this ever again, even more so with a vampire. I mean, I've had to trust a vampire before in the Dark Brotherhood, but I didn't have to bring the thousand year old little girl with me on missions. We joke about it a lot, but when the chips are down, we're as close as sisters. We have each other's backs. And something tells me that we always will.

...

Serana and I are now in Fort Dawnguard, the secret or not so secret hideout of the Dawnguard, and we just returned from retrieving a weapon that can change the tides of this soon to be war against the vampires. Auriel's Bow, the one weapon that can both temporarily block the sun and do serious damage to vampires. Now, I have it on my back talking to Isran about a plan of attack.

Florentius Baenius, a priest or prophet of Arkay who I saved from a lone group of vampires, comes running up to me after I finish speaking with Isran. His face is pale, he's worried about something.

"Florentius? What's wrong? Another vision?" I ask, trying not to sound worried myself.

"Yes, Arkay sent me a vision." He tries to calm down.

"Let me guess, one of my former traveling companions got kidnapped by a small group of vampires? Was is on of the Companions again?" I ask him thinking about how many times Vilkas, a fellow Companion and werewolf, was taken by vampires.

"Not quite." Florentius hangs his head before taking in a deep breathe and ushers me to a wall where no one can hear us. "Your family. Your aunts, uncles, father and brother have been taken by a horde of vampires."

I couln't believe what I am hearing. "How... how did this happen!" I keep my voice low so that I don't draw attention.

"I don't know. All I know is that these vampires were not Harkon's and that your family was taken from your house outside of Morthal." Something tells me that's not all. "Some dark magic or something broke the vision before I could see where they took them, but this letter came to for not long ago."

I take the letter from him, examining everything from the handwriting to the type of parchment. It says, "Come find us and join your family forever." I'm not going to jump to conclusions. I have to see for myself, but finding them is going to be tricky.

"Dawnguard?" Serana sees that I am upset with something.

I nod to dismiss Florentius and turn to Serana. "Someone giving you trouble again Princess of the Night?"

"No, but it looks like something is troubling you."

"What makes you say that?" I try to act dumb.

"One minute, you're excited about taking the fight to my father and now, you look like you've seen a ghost. Not that we haven't seen ghosts before, but one from your past." Serana looks at me with concern.

I haven't seen her look at me like that since we had to find a way for me to get into the Soul Carin, the place where souls go after being absorbed into soul gems. There were two ways for me, a living being, to enter such a realm. One, I lock a piece of my soul into a gem and become fairly weaker, and two, have Serana turn me into a vampire. Looking back now, it was most definitely the moment that I knew that I could trust her.

"I'm sorry. I wish I knew a better way, something that would be easier for you. Just know that...whatever path you choose, I won't think any less of you. Sometimes things just have to be done. I know that better than anybody." Her eyes were filled with regret, something I've never seen in a vampire before.

I sighed, knowing my decision. "I don't see another way. I'll become a vampire."

Serana looked shocked. "Are you sure? I'm willing to turn you, but you need to think it through. You'd become the very thing you'd sworn to destroy. I don't know how the Dawnguard will react."

She was right of course, but I somehow knew that if I ever lost control myself, she would stop me. "I'm ready."

She looked embarrassed all of a sudden and saw my confusion. "Turning someone is a very... personal thing for vampires. It's intimate. For us." Oh, that might have explained a few things. "I don't want you to feel like I'm forcing you into this."

"In that case, I'm glad you're the one doing it." And I meant it, I would let no other vampire turn me, even if I knew it was going to be temporary.

"Let's not waste too much time, then." She readied herself. "I promise to try and make this as painless as possible. Hold still. "

Next thing I knew, she embraced me. Teeth in my neck, my blood went down her throat, and I started to feel cold and weak in the knees. Serana held me up and continued to drink, making me even more light headed. I don't remember much of what happened next, but I can put the pieces together. Me on the ground with blood in my mouth and blood dripping out of her mouth. I was a vampire.

I was a vampire for only a few days. Thankfully, I knew a guy in Morthal. He cured me, Serana got to see, and Isran and the Dawnguard are non the wiser. Since then, I trusted Serana with my life. She could have killed me or made me a thrall, but she didn't. I understand her feelings, but she also understands mine. Especially since I told her about Bishop. When I told her, she understood why I don't want that kind of relationship and why I kept snapping at her whenever the situation would be easier with a tracker.

Now, I need to tell her about my family. I've told her everything else. "My father, brother, two aunts, and two uncles have been kidnapped by vampires from my place outside of Morthal. I don't know where they are and I don't know if they are even alive."

Normally we'd have more to go on, but if blood magic is involved in the interference with the vision, then there's no telling what will happen.

Serana knows this and walks me outside so we can plan and walk at the same time. "I know what you're thinking, rushing in and trying to find clues that might not be there will not help anything."

"I know, I just..." I want my family safe so we can finally go home.

"I know, my friend." She gently grabs my shoulder. "And I know you are not going to like what I'm about to suggest."

What is she... wait a minute! "No! Absolutely not!"

"Dawnguard..."

"No! He is not getting involved in this! In fact, he's not getting involved in my life ever again!" After everything that scruffy looking bastard put me through, how can she even ask me-!

"You're not good at tracking. Remember the time you were tracking those skooma dealers and got us into a cave full of sabre cats instead?" She has a point, a small one, but a point. "If these guys can mess with visions or whatever from Arkay, they might be smart enough to not leave a blood trail which makes my tracking skills useless." Another fair point. "From the looks of it, we're pretty desperate."

There are times when I really hate it when she's right, now is one of those times. "Fine, but once we find my family, we go our separate ways and you will be the one who makes sure that we don't kill each other."

"Me against the most powerful women of Nirn and a ranger with a pet wolf?" Serana askes sarcastically. "Sounds like fun. And if he does hurt you again, do I have permission to kill him myself in any way?"

I almost can't tell if she's joking or not. "I think you'll have to wait behind me, my father, my brother, pretty much the rest of my family, and Bianca."

"Bianca?" I guess I never told Serana about Uncle Varric's crossbow named after a special dwarf woman who helped make it.

"I'll tell you about it later." I smile as we continue walking. "Right now, lets get to Riften and see if any of my people know where that man can possibly be."

"Sounds like a plan to me." Serana runs up behind me.

I can't believe I'm doing this. Right when I thought I've gotten over him, I have to find him to save my family and I'm too terrified to even see him. Let's hope that I don't kill him or immediately fall for him again. Bishop, gods save your soul if you have one.