"Now that I think about it, he doesn't seem at all surprised about the castle. Maybe he doesn't think it's my home? Or he's very good at composing himself." Serana folded her arms in her lap, her heels kicking against the ship. The water was tranquil and pushed ever gently, but the anchor put a stop to that. The creaks and groans of the boat were music to the ears and she closed her eyes, imagining herself on a trading vessel with the sun in her face and seagulls in the air.

"What I'd give to have those days again..."

Life was so much simpler. According to Graven's views, it still was, but she found it impossible to simplify every single complexity surrounding her life. The more she reflected on his words, the less understanding and the more upset she became. Memories were uprooted. He operated on little more than guesswork, and it belittled the pain that gnawed an empty hole inside of her. How would he feel if he suffered the way she had, and was told he was enjoying the company of his demons? He wouldn't like it. Maybe that was the advice he was trying to impart with freeing herself.

"I can't run away, it'll catch up to me anyways. So to let go... I have to run towards it. Run towards fear. Maybe he might have been onto something." She climbed back on the deck and went to fetch the anchor. It wasn't long after she started that she heard the hatch open. She didn't look nor say anything, and her cheeks ached from how hard she tried not to smile when his bare feet padded over on the deck. The ends of the rope behind her became lighter, and she felt a pull with her.

"Towards, or away?" Graven murmured.

"Towards. You with me?"

"Of course." There was a clever smile in that tone, and it made her roll her eyes. She stopped fighting her smile and shot it over her shoulder.

"You have no idea what you're getting yourself into."

"I'm potentially in the presence of a royal queen and I've thought of plenty of scenarios."

"Queen?" Serana chuckled, shaking her head. She renewed her efforts to pull the anchor. "Not at all. You're the first to react so calmly to the castle, though. Most people who see it for the first time tend to be in shock for a little bit."

"You told me about it a while ago, remember?"

They pulled up the anchor, and Serana wiped her hands on her pants when she turned around. She bit her lip to stop the burst of laughter when Graven hastily squatted to pick his trousers off the floor. "I appreciate the help at the expense of your dignity," she teased. "Now what do you mean I told you? I don't remember this at all."

"When you told me how you miss sailing after you saw how I wasn't enjoying myself. I'm still not enjoying it, by the way. Not this part anyways. We're hiring a crew next time we dock at a city." Graven wound his coat tighter around him and jumped in his spot for warmth. "You said you didn't have anyone on the outside you could trust. Outside the castle."

"Oh..."

"But you're right, I admit I am in awe." He leaned on the ship railing and stared at the castle in the distance. "When you said the castle, I thought that was just the name of your home, or something. I didn't think the villa would be an actual castle." He peered over at her. "So you're for sure not a royal queen?"

"Disappointed?" Serana smirked, joining him to bump shoulders. "No queen at all. My parents... They're separated, to put it kindly. My mother ran away." She stole a glimpse as she took a chance, a nervous knot building in her stomach when she finished. "With an elder scroll."

Graven's gaze snapped to her. "So she has one, and you have one? Why are you both in possession of an elder scroll? Were there dragons in your time?"

"Dragons? What does that have to do with elder scrolls? Runayr said something about him handling one, didn't she?" Serana shook her head. "No, not at all. The scrolls... Well, it started with my father. He heard of a prophecy that, long story short, would blot out the sun and bring eternal darkness."

"A captivating prospect for a vampire," he hummed. He looked at the castle. "Is that why you both ran away, then? To keep the scrolls away from him?"

"Yeah..." Serana sighed and rested her chin on her palm. "It was mother's plan. I never had a say in it."

"If you did, what would you have said or done?"

"Ask my daughter her feelings on the whole matter, to start," she mumbled bitterly. "They both became obsessed with their duel with each other. It was toxic. After we... turned... father became obsessed with power at all costs, even at the expense of family. She became obsessed with seeing him fail, also at the expense of family."

"You were caught in the middle."

"I was. I was just a chess piece to them both, a tool to be used to hurt the other."

Serana dug her toe into the deck, kicking at it without thought. The knotted ball in her stomach climbed to her chest when the silence stretched between them. Tension grew and she grew antsy with it, especially with how the castle became larger and larger. She kicked a little harder in a rhythm meant to keep her mind off the past, but nearly every moment of her life revolved around her parents. How was she supposed to move forward with the future when all she knew was life in that castle? It was her comfort zone. Tension soared exponentially when Graven turned towards her, elbow on the railing. The faintest traces of his warm breath brushed her cheek. He stared, and she tried not to ask what he was thinking or staring at her for.

"I challenge you to a duel," he finally said.

Serana looked at him, surprised and confused. "Where in the world is he taking this now?" She thought about her answer, whether to confront him about his intentions, or to play along. The inner child won over and she smirked. "Very well. With what weapon?"

"Compliments." Graven sounded so serious and resolute, that it challenged her not to laugh.

Her cheeks ached, not because of fighting not to smile, but because of how wide it grew when she parried back. "A capital choice."

"Thank you, I- oh!" He grinned radiantly. "I see you've dueled before!"

It cut the tension down when they chuckled, and that thing rattled inside of her when his shoulder brushed against hers, gradually pressing harder. She glanced over and caught how his arm rose up to her shoulders, then fell, and he drummed a little tune on the railing. She looked off at the castle with her aching smile.

"It's good to know I'm not the only nervous one, and that he isn't always confident. Or maybe he never was, and it's been a front all this time just to impress me."

Silence fell again, but the tension was no longer there. She folded her arms on the railing and rested her chin on them. "I know you tend to run positive and optimistic, but... things aren't going to be okay in there, Graven. My father isn't good, even by vampire standards. To be honest, I don't know what he'll do to you. He's just as likely to kill you as reward you for my return."

He assumed the same position as her, their elbows touching. He always sought contact with her. "Unnerving... but endearing at the same time."

"Being positive doesn't necessarily mean knowing that things will turn out okay," he murmured. "Rather, it's knowing that you will be okay no matter how things turn out."

Serana laid her head down and looked at him. "How can you be so casual about this? There is a chance you'll be killed in there, Graven."

"That chance is equal to a dragon swooping down on us any moment, burn our sails, if not us, and leave us stranded. I choose to believe in the possibility we'll be okay, and I'm confident that I'll find a way out if I believe my or your life is threatened. Confidence, wit and positivity make a powerful team, and the best part is: they don't necessarily have to be full to work together."

Serana sighed. She didn't know what to say to him. That he was so headstrong was both a pro and a con, and she knew she had no chance of convincing him not to follow her into the castle. She pushed off the railing and was confused when he scrambled to do the same, until he squatted to pick up his trousers, and she laughed. "I'm glad one of us has confidence, because I really don't know how you're going to survive in there." She rolled her eyes when he grinned at her, and she returned to the wheel to safely guide the ship to the docks. "I'll need you to take down the sails one by one when I tell you to, to slow us down."

"Do I have time to change back into my clothes? I'm not loving the idea of freezing to death with my trousers at my knees."

"I don't blame you, I don't either," she chuckled. "Go quickly, you've got five-"

And he sprinted off, holding his trousers up.

Serana shook her head and manned the helm. She focused on steering more than the dread that pooled in her stomach. Her heart plummeted when they made around the bend of the island, and saw how the old docks were in disarray. When Graven returned, she instructed him when to take down the sails, and with no wind to push the ship, it drifted towards it's destination. She narrowed her eyes when she spotted skeletons come to the edge of the stone docks.

"Graven!"

His head snapped over at her, and then he ran to the edge when she held out one hand, summoning her magic. He rolled up his sleeve and vivid orange lines lit up on his tattoos. He waited until the skeletons clustered together, then drew the pattern of a fire rune with his rune-arm set ablaze. It was both repulsive and magnificent to watch, but shivers consumed her at the sight of flames. In seconds, bones flew and hit at the ship when the skeletons exploded, devoured by a brief pillar of fire. Graven turned to her with a proud smile and flexed his arm, kissing his tattoos. She sighed with a chuckle and renewed her focus in guiding the ship in.

"Drop the anchor now, or we're going to crash!" Serana injected as much terror in her voice as she could, without falling apart laughing. He still had a bit of time, but she wanted it to sound urgent just to watch him scramble across the deck, nearly slipping and landing on all fours. "Making him panic will never get old."

In all fairness, he needed to work up a sweat for how calm and collected he usually was. She was more than happy to be the fire under his rear. It was for his physical well-being and mental resilience, of course. She had to hide her mouth and bite her hand when he collapsed on the deck with his limbs sprawled out.

"I did it!" His voice cracked hoarsely as if he was going through puberty. He surprisingly scraped together enough strength and energy to lift his arm and make a thumbs up.

The ship groaned and turned from the sudden drop of the anchor, but the narrow entrance of the stone docks didn't do much even when the tip knocked against the wall. She locked the wheel and capered over to Graven, leaning over him as he huffed and gulped for air.

"I could freeze you if you need to cool down faster," she teased.

"Not until I master the art of setting fire inside the ice block." Graven grinned tiredly. He held out his hands. "Help me up?"

Serana chuckled and did, following his gaze when he took a moment to soak in the sights of the majestic castle. A little defensive bubble crawled up her chest to her throat, even though he hadn't seemed to make any judgmental looks, but his stoic expression masked much of what he might have been thinking in silence. She couldn't help but blurt out her defense. "Just so you know, I'm not like one of those women who just sit around their castle all day."

"Hm?" He looked at her. "I would've never thought that of you. In fact I wouldn't have ever guessed you're royalty until you mentioned the castle. You don't carry yourself like Jarls or Thanes." He head to the edge of the ship and peered over the railing. "Not a big distance. Let's set a board down to cross over safely."

Graven went on ahead and though he struggled even with the board, it wasn't out of amusement that Serana hadn't helped. She was stuck staring at the castle, and the cringe-worthy scraping of the board against the deck was the only thing that grounded her in the face of her fear. She should have been the one to take the lead, being the one who knew this island and all it's quirks, but she was stuck in a trance and felt strange. Memories flooded in and it was like she was a little girl again. There was an overwhelming sense of loneliness that pervaded her innermost thoughts.

"Sera?" Graven's voice broke her from her muse, and he balanced on the middle of the board. He stretched out his hand to her. "Is everything okay?"

"Yeah. Just... yeah. Sorry, I was lost in thought." She went to the board and carefully made her way down to the middle. It felt even stranger to take his hand than the feelings that swam inside of her. His skin was hot to the touch, as she expected, and his palms were mildly scraped from all the ropes and wood. The roughness of them grounded her just like the sounds of the board a minute ago. He grounded her. She just had to focus on him.

"Where do we go? Are these docks the entrance? Do vampires typically employ skeletons as the doorman greeter?"

"No," she laughed quietly. "We head straight from here and go around the bend of the beach, there will be a bridge there. That's where we enter."

"Fancy," Graven hummed.

He didn't let go of her hand even after they climbed off the board. There were nervous and unsure looks, but she pretended she didn't see them. He was still grounding her even now, where she fretted more about just holding his hand than what was going to happen inside the castle. She stared at their hands, and the backs of his legs. She smiled when she spotted some residue of goop stuck on his pants.

"What a fine first impression that will be for father and the court. I can't wait to see the faces they're going to make when they see it."

She could wait, truthfully, but there was no avoiding this.

Graven stopped and turned abruptly. "Wait, what about the scroll?"

Serana looked back at the ship. "Oh... I forgot." The words sounded numb to her ears. She contemplated on what to do, turning to him. "Let's leave it in the ship for now. It'll be a useful bargaining chip if father attempts to kill you, and he won't if I threaten not to give him the scroll."

"Give him the scroll? I thought the whole point was to keep it away from him."

"He'll need mother's scroll, and he'll need a way to read them. I need to see what he's up to and gain his trust if I'm to find out his plans, and the only way he'll do that is if he believes I'm on his side. If he has the other scroll and a method to unlock them, then..."

"Would he need the scroll I had as well, you think? The dragon scroll?"

"No way of knowing for sure, but it wouldn't be a bad idea to use that as another bargaining chip for yourself, or pretend to offer it to him. Then he'll see a use to keep you alive."

"A sound plan." Graven squeezed her hand, drawing their attentions down to where they were joined.

"I'm not nervous," she lied to convince herself that she was completely calm and casual about this, like him. This wasn't a big deal. It was just hands. He had kissed her neck and shoulder and that was far more intimate than this. She even managed to squeeze his hand back and saw what was going on in his eyes. He was trying to convince himself the same thing, or so she liked to believe. If he could be brave, so could she. "Let's go. This way."

Serana took the lead, but gently pulled away from him when the bridge came into sight. He didn't seem to react at all to it, neither disappointed or relieved. He was still hard to read, but she must have made it just as hard for him. He would get nothing from now on. Not even from reflections.

"Follow my lead when we're inside," she murmured when they made it halfway across the bridge. "I'll handle the talking."

"And if I'm addressed to?"

She chewed the inside of her lip. "Keep your wits about you and be yourself so long as it doesn't antagonize or disrespect the Lord of the court."

"Right. No pressure." Graven chuckled nervously.

They stiffened when they reached the doorman at the gate, who came up to the bars to scrutinize her. His expression was unreadable, until his gaze fell on the brooch of Molag Bal on her cape. She wanted to rip it off and throw it into the sea. The doorman's leathery voice boomed in his announcement, making them jump.

"Lady Serana's back! Open the gate!"

"Lady Serana?" Graven whispered, a small smile aimed at her. "Knew I was right to call you Sera. Maybe I should call you Sera-Sera now."

Serana waited until the doorman turned around before she kicked Graven's calf. He grimaced and swallowed his chuckles. It was just that tiny bit to help ground her again and keep dismantling the tension whenever it grew. They entered the castle, and she was hit with strong smells of blood and meat. It coated her tongue and she did her best to keep herself in check before her mind turned the man beside her into a prey.

"How dare you trespass here!" Came the arrogant and aristocratic shrill she was not looking forward to hearing ever again.

"Vingalmo. I see the world has failed to be rid of you." It took willpower not to roll her eyes. When she opened her mouth to clarify who he was speaking disrespectfully to, his eyes widened in recognition at her, but when they slipped to Graven, they narrowed and he almost sneered with disgust. She cleared her throat to regain his attention. "Vingalmo, a pleasure to see you again."

"Serana... is that truly you?" He whipped around when she nodded and strode to the court, his arms spread in a theatrical display. "My Lord, everyone! Serana has returned!"

"Lady Serana, disrespectful n'wah," Graven grumbled his correction under his breath. She elbowed him and did her best not to smile.

A flurry of murmurs buzzed from the court when they entered. "I guess I'm expected," she whispered. "I didn't expect this kind of reception over my return."

All eyes fell on them, and her nails dug into the staircase railing when her gaze met her father's. His buttery voice made goosebumps break out and she shuddered.

"Ah, my long lost daughter, I trust you have my elder scroll?"

Serana tasted vomit in her mouth and she snapped impatiently. "After all these years, that's the first thing you ask me? Yes I have the scroll. I'm keeping it in a safe place."

Harkon laughed. It only flared contempt and resentment than any longing to embrace the man she once lovingly revered as father. "Of course I'm delighted to see you, my dear. Must I really say the words aloud?" The rest of his words were tuned out when she grew bored of his display. He pranced about just as theatrically, an act put on for the court. Except instead of playing the role of the Lord, he would be better suited in a Jester's costume, like the rest of the members of this court. She was equally displeased to see that Orthjolf was also still around. She was willing to bet all her wealth that his feud with Vingalmo and their slow dance for the throne was still alive and well.

Serana turned her head enough to glimpse if Graven was behind her, and he was. He wore his usual stoic face, and his body language screamed comfort instead of the discomfort that burned in his eyes. He was just as good at acting and minding where his gaze went. It must have been no small thing to do with dismembered bodies on dining tables and blood dripping off to collect into bowls. She stiffened when her father uttered something damning.

"Now, tell me, who is this stranger you have brought into our hall?"

"He sounds amused. Let's hope he stays that way." Serana cleared her throat and stepped aside for her father to get a good look at Graven. "This is my savior Graven, the one who freed me. He's responsible for bringing me home safely as well, and did so all by himself. He was also able to procure a ship and help me sail."

Harkon cupped his chin and scrutinized the young man, a slippery smile forming on his face as he came up to Graven. "Competent and resourceful. I like that." A dangerous glint passed by father's eyes. "As Lord of the court and for my daughter's safe return, you're due a reward." He stepped back and put on another show for the court, raising his voice to fill the throne room. "I offer you my blood. Take this gift and you will walk like a lion among sheep."

Hushed murmurs and gasps broke out. Serana nervously looked over at Graven, who did well not to expose his reaction. It would mean little in a minute. Father had him trapped. To decline was to offend the Lord and be grounds to be executed, and she knew there was no way Graven would accept.

He didn't. But not on father's terms.

"Respectfully, I must decline, my Lord. If I am due a reward, then I believe it should be Lady Serana who pays the price and offer her blood to me."

Serana froze. The court buzzed, and her father's laugh fell on deaf ears as her gaze whipped to Graven. She wanted to scream and ask what he was thinking, especially when he had the audacity to turn to her, take her hand in his, and kneel before her.

"What say you, Lady Serana? Would I be so blessed as to receive your gift?"

"What is he thinking?" She didn't know what to say. She couldn't accept. "What is he thinking?" She stared, speechless, but her mind raced with hundreds of thoughts. "What in Oblivion is this fool thinking?! He was supposed to keep his wits about him to not die, and now he is purposefully throwing himself on death's door!"

"Serana, it's rude to keep him waiting," Harkon drawled with disgustingly obvious amusement. There was nothing amusing about this.

"Not here, let us retire to my room," she forced through clenched teeth. She couldn't get a read on Graven at all. What if this was his motive all along? The words that came out of her mouth almost felt as if this were all part of just an elaborate nightmare. She poked her palm when she whispered the rest. "And then I'll bestow the gift upon you."

Her finger didn't go through.