Unlike most Argonians, especially the ones in Black Marsh, Akiseta had a strong grasp on the concept of time. Many moments, one moment, it really didn't matter which it was. It all flowed forward anyways.
She had lost track of time being trapped in Castle Volkihar. She had to assume it was days, based on how thirsty and hungry she was. Her place of imprisonment was constantly dark, never allowing her eyes to adjust.
The vampires always seemed to know when the mixture they sedated her with would start to wear off, since it would be administered whenever her senses began to clear. She had no idea how long its effects lasted. The vampires must have known through Harkon's experiments.
The mixture had been administered five more times so far, and it seemed to hurt her longer each time. Harkon had administered it one of those other times, and after that, Akiseta felt too weak to fight off the other vampires, although she did try. It was just in vain.
Her body was in a constant state of stagnant pain, like a dull headache, and it was constantly aching. Her legs trembled from being stuck in an upright position, and her arms hurt. The burning on her wrists, ankles, and face was always there. Her veins felt like they'd had coals placed inside them, and her chest had a tight pull inside it.
There were times when she'd give in to exhaustion, but the sleep wouldn't ever last long. Her throat felt sore, and her mouth was so dry. She thought she tasted her own blood, dried and cracked. Her stomach made deep gurgling noises, pained with hunger. It made her nauseous. She'd thrown up at once point, but the bile remained stuck in her mouth since it was chained shut, so she had to swallow it back down. She could still taste it in her mouth.
Her senses of hearing and smell felt weak. Each dosing had deadened them until they were even duller then before they'd been enhanced. It felt like her beastblood had withered away, like the wolf inside her was dead.
Was that possible? To kill off a part of her?
She might as well really be dead at this point. The Dawnguard wasn't going to get here in time. And even if they did, would there be anything left of her to save?
Akiseta was too emptied of tears to cry, but her heart hurt worse as she thought of what would happen when she died.
Lucia. Her sweet little flower would lose another mother. Long ago, Lydia and Farkas had promised to look after Lucia if anything ever happened, so the girl wouldn't be alone. But to lose her family twice, and at such young ages both times... She would be devastated. It might even break her. Akiseta hated to think about it. Serana would have to bear the bad news.
Serana. Her beautiful vampire. She would be left alone again. Sure, she would kill Harkon, saving the world and avenging the death of her lover. But she'd be alone. She would lose the only love she'd ever had.
Akiseta knew the pain of losing the love of one's life. Death or separation, it was an unbearable pain. Serana had been through enough pain already. She didn't deserve more.
Akiseta didn't want to die. She had a life ahead of her, with Lucia and Serana. She'd had so many plans for their future as a family. Now it was all going away. She was going to die here, in this cold, dark place. All alone.
Harkon's came back to her. 'I wonder how it must feel, to have so much power at the tip of your tongue, and to be unable to use it.'
It was humiliating. She remembered when she'd captured Odahviing at Dragonsreach. He had admitted to being humiliated by the incident. She felt the same here. She missed Odahviing. He was probably up at the peak of The Throat of the World with Paarthurnax, meditating.
'Meditating... of course!'
Her mortal body was broken, and her wolf might have been dead, but her soul, her dragon, was still there.
She'd trained and meditated with Paarthurnax for months after defeating Alduin. It improved her focus, allowing her to truly feel her soul.
If she did that now, if she could focus on her soul, she might be able to think clearly, and figure out a way to free herself.
Akiseta straightened herself up, leaning back against the cold stone. She relaxed her body and closed her eyes, steadying her breathing. She focused on listening and smelling, picking up the sounds and scents around her.
'Drem Yol Lok.' She repeated in her head. She focused on feeling deep inside herself, feeling for her dragon blood, reaching out to her soul.
'You can't break a dragon, Harkon. You aren't the dominant one here. I will be. Just you wait.'
A thick fog had rolled in. It boded well, since it would help make sure the ship remained hidden. Serana could barely make out the distant shape of the castle through the fog. Even then, she hated what she could see.
She moved to the other end of the ship, and checked her satchel again. Florentius had made her a few potions to help get her to the island. The arrows from Gelebor were safely inside. She gripped Auriel's bow tightly. Even through the cloth she'd wrapped it in, it's unearthly warmth heated up her hand.
"You ready for this, Serana?" Isran asked.
"As ready as I'll ever be."
"As soon as you head out, I'll have Kjar direct the ship to head around the island. We won't be to far behind you. Please, be careful, Serana."
Serana couldn't help but feel somewhat happy about Isran's concern for her. Maybe he really was starting to see her as friend.
She smiled. "I will be, Isran."
She drank the stamina potion Florentius had made her. Instantly, she felt rejuvenated from the exhaustion that had plagued her the past days. She took in a deep breath, and leapt over the side of the ship, plunging into the water and under the surface.
The cold of it didn't bother her, but it stung her eyes some. She pulled out another potion, one of water breathing, and drank it down. A searing pain clawed at her neck, tearing at her skin. For a few moments, Serana felt she was suffocating.
Her throat burned at the taste of sea water, and her lungs ache in protest at the sensation of being fed air through gills. But, at least she was breathing. Auriel's bow burned warm even under the frigid water.
Serana began swimming. Occasionally, a few fish would dash passed her, but she saw little else. Thoughts raced through her mind.
How was she to find Akiseta? She wouldn't be with the awaiting thralls. So where would Harkon keep her? Her mother had a secret laboratory, so maybe Harkon had some secret set up too. How would she find it?
Maybe she'd confront Harkon first, and make him tell her. She had the upper hand. She had the bow. She could hurt him. She could kill him. She knew she could.
Serana felt a prickling feeling in her neck. She swam upward, gasping in air through her mouth as she surfaced. Her neck felt sore, and she ran her fingers over where the gills had been. The skin felt a little rough still.
Serana had a clearer view of the island now. Swimming the rest of the way, she waded out of the shallows, and onto the shore. She walked along the bridge, feeling weighed down by her soaked clothes.
"Lady Serana?" The watchman said in surprise as she approached the gate. "Oh, the court will be delight to see you."
'I'll just bet.' Serana thought with irritation as she stepped inside. She walked onto the little overlook, gazing into the dining room, where the members of the court were feeding. The scents of warm, mortal blood hit her nose, and she gripped the railing, feeling sickened with how she felt her mouth water the slightest bit.
The court members all lifted their heads in her direction, staring at her with varying looks of surprise, and hints of anger. Serana kept her posture straight, holding her head up and keeping a calm expression, an act she'd developed for them over the centuries, and descended the stairs.
CuSith trotted over to greet her, wagging his stumpy tail. Serana dropped a hand to scratch behind his ears.
Vingalmo stood from the table, wiping traces of blood from his mouth, and came over to her. "Serana? What are you doing here?"
"Last time I check, this was my home." Serana said, stressing the word was. "Long before it was yours, I might add."
"Right, of course, Lady Serana." Vingalmo apologized. "We just weren't expecting you. You're.. you're completely drenched. It looks like you swam here."
"I did. I didn't have much choice." Serana crossed her arms. "The boat that was used to get me here last time was missing."
Vingalmo shifted his gaze from her to the clothed object in her hands. "What have you there?"
"A gift, for my father. Where is he?"
"Indisposed at the moment, Lady Serana. Would you like me to take it to him?"
"No. I'd like to present this to him myself."
"As you wish, Lady Serana. You may wait in your chambers until Lord Harkon is ready to receive you. Would you like me to-"
"I know the way." Serana said, striding off. The scent of mortal blood blocked out all else, and Serana bit her lip sharply to distract from it. There was another scent, faint and buried under the blood, but she couldn't stop to try and separate it, or she feared her instincts would take over.
Serana shut the door to her room, breathing hard. She set Auriel's bow and her satchel down on her bed, and dug through her satchel for her blood vials. She pulled the stopper out of one, and held it up to her nose. It was rabbit blood, cold from the Ice Wraith essence mixed in.
Serana breathed in its scent until she couldn't pick up traces of mortal blood, then drank it down. She placed the empty vial back into her satchel, and drunk down another, feeling relief. She knew she'd been hungry, but the scent of warm mortal blood, the first of it in such large quantities in a long time, had made her crave.
She knew it was her instincts, but they still made her feel sick with herself. The only mortal blood she'd tasted in quite some time was Akiseta's, and that was just little bits of it, drawn during their nights of intimacy. The Argonian's blood was an interesting mix, tasting both a bit cold and somewhat salty from being an Argonian and yet warm and bestial from her beastblood, with tinges of pure power from her dragon blood. Akiseta's blood hadn't once made Serana feel hunger, but a strange sense of pleasure, and a deeper connection to her lover.
Akiseta's scent had been the faint one she'd picked up earlier. The Argonian had been brought through the main hall, but Serana hadn't been able to tell where the scent went.
Serana wanted nothing more than to scour the castle to find Akiseta, but she could not. The court would surely know if she slipped away before her audience with Harkon, and that could put Akiseta in even more danger. Her best bet was to confront Harkon. Hopefully by then, the Dawnguard would be here, and they'd be dealing with the court members.
Serana went over to the dresser, and found some dry attire, similar to what she'd been wearing when she'd been sealed away. Changing out of her soaked clothes and drying off, she got dressed. She undid her braids and brushed tangles out of her hair, then redid her braids. She brushed dust away from the vanity mirror, and looked at her reflection.
'If I didn't know better, I'd swear I look older.' She thought to herself. Centuries of life, trapped in this castle, then in the darkness of Dimhollow. Then, a couple months of freedom that could have been a beautiful life time. Now, she was back here.
"I don't know where you are, Akiseta, but I'm here." She whispered to herself. "I'm right here, my love. I'll be with you soon. I promise."
Serana went and sat on her bed. Harkon would keep her waiting, but she wouldn't let it get on her nerves. She could be just as patient as him.
She dug the books she got from the Arcanaeum out of her satchel, and began to read again from the book she'd left off on. She'd glance up from the pages to the door every few pages.
After finishing this book and getting well into the next one, she heard a knock at the door.
"Lady Serana? Lord Harkon will see you now. He awaits within the chapel."
"Thank you, Vingalmo." Serana said as sincerely as she could force herself.
She placed all the books in a small chest beside her bed, and gathered up her satchel. She adjusted the arrows into proper placement, and closed it, making sure not to strap it shut. She grabbed the bow, adjusting the cloth to be ready to slide off easily.
She left her room, once again passing through the dining hall. She ignored the few other vampires in the room and made her way into the cathedral. The door swung shut hard behind her. Pale light came in through the windows. The fog had cleared a little, but was still dense.
Harkon stood behind the blood alter, gazing out at the fog. His hands were clasped behind his back in a dignified manner. He turned to her, a smile coming to his face.
"Serana, my darling. So good of you to finally come home."