At first, everything was peaceful. Akiseta felt like she was drifting off. She wasn't sure where she was, but it felt so nice. She didn't want to open her eyes.

Then she became aware of pain. First, it was a constant ache in her body, deep enough to reach her bones. She swore they felt weak, close to being brittle. Her muscles felt like they'd been torn up. The worse pain was around her wrists, ankles, and her whole face, mainly her snout. It felt like they were burning. Not an intense burn, but a steady one, like a half-dead fire, coals flickering and charring.

Akiseta slowly opened her eyes, though it didn't help. Darkness surrounded her. As her eyes adjusted, she saw her snout in the dark. Metal chains wrapped tightly around it, with a long one looped through them and extending up the bridge of her nose, a silvery color to them. They burned painfully. The burning extended along her cheeks, aggravating pain in the scars on her right one. It went all the way around her head, even crossing through her feathers.

Panic flooded her, and she tried to move, her body aching something awful. She felt cold stone pressed to her back, but couldn't pull herself away. Her wrists and ankles were firmly held to it, burning as much as her face.

Akiseta tried to move again. She shook her head. The chains rattled some, but held firm, only managing to burn her more. She mentally cursed at herself. She breathed in, picking up the scent of sea water, and rats. Breathing in again, she picked up old scents, of dried blood, and something else.

'Werewolf scents?' She sniffed again. 'It is werewolf scents. And... Argonians?' Akiseta felt a shiver run down her spine. 'Where in Oblivion am I?'

Akiseta looked around, trying to ignore the pain each head turn brought. She couldn't see much past her own hands. Her sleeves had been torn a bit, leaving her wrists and a bit of her upper arms exposed. She could make out the floor beneath her feet, which were bare. The stone was cracked in several places, and the cold bit into her soles and toes.

Her tail remained free. She moved it along the stone in an ark, trying to feel for anything. All she felt was more stone, and dirt.

She breathed in again as her senses became more clear, another scent coming to her. Vampires.

Memories came back to her, of the fight with the vampires at the river. Serana had fallen in with a gargoyle, carried down the rapids. Akiseta prayed she was alright. As for herself, those vampires had dosed her with wolfsbane, and maybe something else. They had brought her all this way, though she didn't remember being taken. Which meant..

'I'm in Castle Volkihar. Harkon had me taken.'

Panic once again flooded her. Harkon hadn't killed her, but instead had her taken. So what did he want? She didn't want to find out. She once again struggled against her restraints, attempting to open her mouth. The chains held it tightly shut.

Akiseta heard the groaning creak of an old door being opened, and a vampiric scent came to her nose, along with fresh mortal blood. She knew that scent. She looked around in the dark, but could not see a thing.

A bright light filled the room suddenly, and Akiseta closed her eyes, letting out a muffled growl. She opened her eyes, blinking against the bright light. Harkon stood in front of her, the gentle smile on his lips belied by the cruel look in his eyes. A ball of magical light rested in his palm.

"You've finally awoken. I was beginning to think you'd slumber forever. It would certainly have made things much simpler. But it's easier to converse with someone who is mostly aware."

Harkon moved to her side and raised his hand to a wall mounted brazier, resting the ball of light atop it. He returned to standing in front of her.

"You have no idea how much it pleases me to have you here like this. Do you have any idea how troublesome you've been towards my plans? Getting in the way, killing my people, and taking away what is mine."

Akiseta felt he was referring to the scroll, and Serana. They were both nothing but possessions to him. A pit of anger filled her stomach.

"Normally, I would want your head to be brought to me on a platter, but having you killed would be a waste. No. You're much more useful to me alive."

Akiseta growled, shaking her head. The chains rattled.

"Ah, yes. Your restraints. You have no idea the trouble I had to go through to set this up. As I'm sure you can tell, there is silver in the metal. Not purely silver, however. I discovered that silver doesn't hold well as a means of imprisonment. Steel is much stronger. The silver was to help keep you in check. As is the little mixture you were dosed with. It had to be administered a couple times to keep you sedated. Wolfsbane you know. But are you familiar with belladonna berries?"

Akiseta knew what those were. She'd read about them in a book in a Silver Hand camp. They were deadly to werewolves. If the juice had been applied directly to her blood, then that explained why her body had felt so weird after being cut by the Breton vampire.

A new sense of dread came to her. 'Am I going to die?'

"I can see the fear in your eyes. You needn't worry. The mixture is to keep you in a sedated state, and prevent you from turning. It won't kill you. It was complicated, trying to find the right balance of wolfsbane extract and the juice from the berries. Fortunately, I was able to find enough subjects to test on until I found the right mix."

That was why she could smell other werewolves. Harkon had captured others, torturing them until he found the mixture he wanted. It made her feel sick.

"Your restraints were the easier part. Your people have a lot of similarities in body structure. After a few tries, I found out what sizing would work for you."

'He kidnapped other Argonians. Tortured them, like the werewolves.'

Akiseta growled again, shaking her head violently, trying to push her jaws apart. The chains held firm, burning her even worse as she shook her head.

Harkon laughed. "Don't waste what little energy you have. Those chains won't budge. Those were the easiest part. You see, your body structure is like other Argonians, but your face,"

Harkon placed a hand under her chin, tilting her head up. "Your face is quite different. So much like a dragon's. As soon as you were brought here, all we had to do was secure the chains around you. To keep you from being able to Shout."

Akiseta pulled her head back, glaring at Harkon. An amused smile came to his lips.

"I wonder how it must feel, to have so much power at the tip of your tongue, and be unable to use it."

'Just wait until I get out of these restraints, you thuxis bastard.' Akiseta though venomously. She was going to get out, somehow. She had to.

"I hadn't expected that little party I sent to collect you to be able to bring in Serana as well. That would have been too much to hope for. I presume she'll run back to that little Dawnguard of yours to get their 'help'. They won't be able to stop me. Now that I have you, Serana will give me exactly what I want."

Akiseta shook her head. 'She'll never help you.'

"I can see you disagree. But your wrong. She'll do whatever I say, to keep you alive."

Harkon grabbed her horn, twisting her head painfully to the side. Tears stung at her eyes.

"I smell her scent on you, clinging like a mist. And then this." He traced his finger along the fang marks in her neck, the cold from his hand biting into her. "She claimed you as her own, and still didn't have it in her to turn you. Disappointing, really." He let go of her horn.

"She's attached to you." Disgust crossed his face. "It's rather sickening to even think my own daughter would share a bed with a dog like you, but I suppose she has some sense of taste in choosing the Dragonborn. And it works out perfectly. She'll agree to help me if it'll will spare her little pet."

'Never.' Akiseta hissed in her mind. 'She'll come for me. She and the Dawnguard will come. They'll destroy your court, and you. Serana will never give in to you, She's stronger then that.'

"Such anger in you eyes. Makes we wish I could read your thoughts." Harkon said. His finger slid along the fangs of her necklace, lifting it away from her chest a bit. "Interesting piece of jewelry. From your homeland, correct?"

Akiseta made an attempt to smack him in the face with her head, but he moved out of her reach, laughing.

"Sentimental, is it? Be thankful I let you keep it on. You deserve some form of comfort."

Akiseta growled, anger burning in her chest. All she could think about was tearing Harkon apart. She tried to call on her beastblood. She felt her veins burning, but in a most painful way. Her bones felt like they would break apart, and her muscles felt like they were being torn. She gave up attempting to turn, feeling her whole body tremble with pain. She panted through her nose.

Harkon let out an amused chuckle. "Attempting to turn, were we? You can't. Maybe you could, if you had this." He stepped closer, and pulled a ring out of his pocket, holding up to the light a little. The Ring of Hircine. Of course he'd taken it.

"Where is your precious Huntsman now? Or your Aedra? Where is the aid of your dragon-blood father?" Harkon taunted. He leaned close to her. "You really are alone, you know that? Forsaken by your gods, your Hist, and even Hircine."

Akiseta swung her tail up, cutting the lower spines across his hand. He pulled back some, letting out a pained yelp. Akiseta heard a cluttering sound on the floor. He must have dropped the ring.

She moved her head forward, swinging it to the side, and clipped Harkon along the side of his face with the tip of her horn. He stepped farther back, pressing his hand to his face. Akisets could smell his blood, and the scent of it brought her some delight.

Harkon moved his hand away, looking at his own blood. He shook his head. "You really are a fighter, aren't you?" He pulled a dagger from the sheath at his waist. Akiseta picked up the familiar scent of wolfsbane, and another she didn't recognize, most likely the belladonna berries.

Panic gripped her chest. Harkon gazed cruelly at her, raising his cut hand. She felt a strange sensation in her body. It was like it was being forced to hold still. His blood magic.

Akiseta attempted to move, her body fighting her. Harkon grabbed her horn, forcing her head to turn. She struggled against him, fighting to wrench her horn free.

She felt a burning cut along her neck, and tried to scream in pain through her clenched teeth. Tears of pain stung her eyes, starting to leak down her cheeks. Her body burned like it was on fire, her every inside vein, muscle, and organ feeling like they were going to shrivel to nothing.

Harkon stepped back, sheathing the dagger. "There. That should keep you calm. Don't worry, Akiseta. This will all be over once I get what I want. And I promise I'll be much kinder to you in the coming age."

He waved his hand, and the light spell dissipated, leaving his eyes glowing in the darkness, before he turned from her. She listened to his retreating footsteps, and then the door opening and closing.

She hung her head, her body slumping as much as her restraints would allow.

'Serana.. please hurry.'

Sleep did not bode any comfort for Serana. What little she managed to obtain was filled with nightmares, about what could happen at the castle, and what could be happening to Akiseta. She forced herself to keep them from her mind when she was awake.

She looked up at the night sky, stars glittering above her head. A part of her wondered how the night could remain so calm, despite the problems stirring underneath the glowing little lights.

She looked around the deck of the boat. Most of the Dawnguard members found places to sleep amongst the cargo. One of Kjar's crew members was at the helm. There was always one at the helm at any given time of day or night. The ship was in constant motion.

Serana leaned over the railing, looking down at the sea. Messer's reflection rippled in the waves, accompanied by a bit of Secunda. Isran's heavy footsteps came towards her, but she kept her gaze on the water.

"Serana, I think you should try and get some rest."

"I'm fine." Serana insisted. "Besides, why are you still up?"

"I've been thinking about your plan. I still don't think it's safe for you."

"We don't have any other options. If any one at the castle sees this ship, we'll lose our attempt at surprising them. And it would put Akiseta in even more danger."

The last thing they needed to do was put Akiseta at risk. Harkon had gone through a lot of trouble to take her, and Serana didn't want to give him any reasons to try and kill her.

"You could at least take one of the life boats." Isran told her.

"This ship only has two. As it is, some of you will have to swim."

Serana didn't like the thought of having to swim to the castle either, which she was planning on doing when they got closer. But she had no other options. Kjar and his crew didn't know she was a vampire, and she avoided their gazes to keep it that way. She couldn't take her Vampire Lady form, or they would surely freak out. And she couldn't turn into a bat to get there either. She had Sunhallowed arrows in her satchel, a gift from Gelebor. Auriel's bow wouldn't fit, so she had it wrapped in cloth. The satchel alone would be too heavy for her bat self to carry, let alone the bow.

"What if Kjar and his men suddenly notice your absence?" Isran asked.

"They're Nords. Tell them I'm a wizard. Wizards are always up to something, aren't they?"

Isran sighed. "I still wish you weren't planning on going in alone."

"I have to. We need to keep to the plan."

The plan was for the ship to swing wide around the island, and approach from behind it. The ship would anchor a distance away, and the Dawnguard would take the life boats to the back of the island, and sneak along the bend. As their best archer, Sorine would take out the watchman before being noticed, and the they would assault the castle, catching Harkon's court members off guard.

As for herself, Serana wasn't completely sure. She figured she'd be dealing with Harkon.

For so long, she'd struggled with whether or not she'd be able to truly bring herself to do this. Then, Akiseta was taken. Serana had no more doubts in her mind. Harkon was not her father. He was a malicious, evil monster, and she was going to stop him.

"Serana?"

Isran's voice broke through her thoughts.

"What?"

"I... wanted to talk to you about something."

"What something?"

"Akiseta. I know very well what she's capable of. But we both know she isn't invincible. I think we need to consider the slight possibility that she might be-"

"Dead? No. She isn't"

"Serana, I want to believe that too. But-"

She's not dead!" Serana snapped. "Harkon made sure she would live so he could take her. He wants her alive. He wants to break her, so he can break me." Serana felt her shoulder's slump, and she hid her face on her hands. "This all comes back to me. It's my fault."

"You need to stop torturing yourself, Serana. Akiseta got involved in all of this by her own choosing. She wasn't going to let Harkon complete the prophecy. If you think that he's keeping her alive, then he probably is. You know her. He won't break her."

"He'll try. She isn't like other mortals. Their wills break easy. They become thralls through little trouble."

"Could his magic affect her?"

"I don't know. Her necklace could protect her, if he left it on. It doesn't radiate magic like other enchanted items do, maybe because of the Hist. But he still knows how to break people."

The thought of Akiseta being tortured made Serana physically sick. Her heart hurt, as if she'd been stabbed. Hot tears blurred her vision, stinging her skin as they slid down her cheeks. She brushed them away.

"I can't lose her. I can't"

She felt a strong hand on her shoulder, and turned her head to look at Isran.

"You won't, Serana. We are going to stop Harkon, and we will get Akiseta back."