Akiseta had instructed the carriage driver to head to Morthal. After getting there, she insisted on riding Arvak to Dawnstar. It would take longer, but Akiseta hadn't given an explanation as to why she decided that. In fact, she hadn't spoken to Serana since leaving Markarth.
Serana tried her best to ignore the slience as they rode along on Arvak. She held on to Akiseta's shoulders, rather than her waist.
Serana understood that Akiseta was still mad at her, and knew she had every right to be. But the tension between them was becoming unbearable. Despite being right next to each other, Serana had never felt so distant from her lover.
"Aki, how come you wanted to take Arvak?" Serana asked, breaking the silence.
"I felt safer. The past couple attempts on my life have left me a little uneasy." Akiseta said.
"I know. I-"
Serana was cut off when Arvak stopped suddenly. Akiseta had gone still. The Argonian sniffed the air. Her eyes developed a panicked look.
Serana frowned, and sniffed too, and picked up a scent that sent cold shivers down her spine: Wolfsbane.
An arrow struck the tree beside them, startling them. Turning to look in the direction it came from, they saw another would be Altmer assailant, aiming another arrow. More assailants revealed themselves, uncloaking from being invisible. Serana couldn't pick up their scents, but she could smell the wolfsbane lacing their weapons, which also glinted silver.
"One wrong move, from either of you, and the Dragonborn is going to have a very bad day." One of the assailants said, stepping forward.
Akiseta was still rigid, eyes brimmed with fear. Her breathing was tense, and she gripped Arvak's chain tightly, her hands trembling.
"What do you want?" Serana asked, bringing up her magic disguise as she lowered her hood.
"We'd like to have a little talk with the Dragonborn."
"It's hard to carry out a conversation when weapons are being aimed at us." Serana said.
"It a security measure." The Altmer said. "Given the Dragonborn's... condition, it's in our best interest to handle business this way.
"How do you know about her... condition?" Serana questioned.
"We have ways of learning things." The Altmer replied vaguely. "Now, if you and the Dragonborn don't want to get hurt, I suggest you get off the horse, and come with us."
Serana carefully slid off Arvak, and helped Akiseta down. She was trembling like a leaf in the wind.
"It's going to be okay." Serana whispered. "I won't let them hurt you."
Akiseta gripped her arms tightly, looking down at the ground.
The Altmer lead Serana and Akiseta to A large, somewhat run-down fort. It was imposing, and made Serana uneasy. The whole walk to the place, and through the courtyard, her mind raced with questions.
'How could they have figured out Aki is a werewolf? And what do they want to talk about?'
Whatever it was, it wasn't good. That much was clear.
Serana looked over at Akiseta, who had remained on edge the whole time. Her breathing had grown more tense, and she looked frantically as the Altmer, her eyes darting between their silver wolfsbane laced weapons.
Serana knew she was remembering the last time she'd dealt with silver and wolfsbane, and her heart ached. She knew how horrible reliving trauma was, and she wanted to help Akiseta through it.
The Altmer led them into a room, and up some stair to an upper level. In this part of the room, there were five shelves, all filled with various books, potions, and alchemy supplies. An arcane enchanter was also present, as was a long wooden table. Another Altmer was present. She was dressed in Thalmor robes, and was drinking some sort of wine from a goblet.
"Ah, Dragonborn. I've been awaiting your arrival." She said, turning around. Burn scars lined the left side of her face, and her left eye was clearly blind. "Please, have a seat."
Serana took Akiseta gently by the arm, and led her to the table, helping her sit down. Her expression hadn't changes, and she was still trembling.
The Altmer that escorted them didn't leave the room, but stood close by, weapons at the ready. The Thalmor agent walked over to the table, and sat on the bench on the other side.
"What do you want with us? Why did you bring us here?" Serana questioned.
The Thalmor looked crossly at her. "Serana, right? That's your name? I've heard a lot about you. I can't imagine the pain you must have felt, losing your family to vampires. And yet you were still so brave to face the filthy blood suckers along side Akiseta. Truly you are deserving of heroic praise." She said, her tone mocking.
"Since you've heard about me, and what me and Akiseta have done, than you should know you wouldn't be a problem to deal with."
"Now now. I suggest you mind your manners. All it will take is a but of silver and wolfsbane, and the Dragonborn will be another dead legend."
At the mentions of silver and wolfsbane, Akiseta stiffened considerably. Her tail went rigid, and she gripped the table. Serana bit her lip, and remained silent.
"Good. Now, on to the matter at hand. My name is Eilotha, and the Thalmor have entrusted me to deal with the Dragonborn and her... troublesome actions."
She hasn't done anything to you people." Serana stated. "And tell me this; How did you find out she's a werewolf?"
"We've had suspicions for a while. As with the way our agents operate, we learn a thing or two. We learned about the Silver hand, and the other remaining werewolf from her little Companions. That's why we sent the werelion to deal with her. He had speed to his advantage, and had she been alone, she would have been dead."
"Aki has face far worse than a werelion. It'll take more than anything you've got to beat her." Serana said.
"Maybe. But I think the Thalmor's problems with her can be put to an end without any more bloodshed."
"If you're thinking about making a deal, forget it." Akiseta snapped. "I would never consider and arrangement with the likes of you."
"That's really a pity. You made a deal with Tulius and Ulfric. But that didn't go as planned, did it?" Eilotha asked in a teasing tone.
"If you know what they've done, then you should know to stay out of my way." Akiseta growled.
"Ah, but that is where the problem lies, isn't it, you little hypocrite. You wanted them to stay out of your affairs, but you meddled in theirs. Quite gruesomely too, I might add."
"What in Oblivion are you going on about?" Serana asked.
Akiseta went silent again. She began tapping the table with her fingers, claws clacking against the wood. The tip of her tail twitched in a nervous manner.
"You can;t possibly know." She hissed softly.
"Oh, but I do, my little lizard."
"Know what? Serana asked, feeling confused. What were they talking about?
A smirk came to Eilotha's lips. "Oh, the Dragonborn didn't tell you? Naughty, naughty. You do have the right to know. The war had been at a stalemate far before Akiseta came to Skyrim, and after her ultimatum, it's been more or less at a standstill. but, haven't you wondered why neither side had gain an upper hand in all this time?" She asked.
"Because cutting off Whiterun made it hard." Serana said.
Eilotha laughed. "You really are oblivious. That's hardly the case, my dear Nord. You see, the 'noble' Dragonborn here has been having dragons attack troops of soldiers from both sides.
Serana couldn't believe what she just heard.
"What?"
"Oh, yes. Some of our agents have scene it happen. It didn't matter to us at first, until the dragons began attack our people as well. We've lost a lot of good agents and Justicars because of her."
Serana clenched her hands into fists. "You're lying!"
"It's the truth, dear. And you need to accept it."
"Where's your proof?"
"Right here." Eilotha gestured to her burn scars. "It took months and damn good healers to get better. You see, I was in one of the Thalmor troops she had ambushed. And it wasn't just the dragon. She was there too, on his back like he was some noble steed. I survived the fiery onslaught, and I overheard some of what she said to the bet, about doing this to more Thalmor, and to the troops in the war."
Serana turned to Akiseta. "Aki, is this true?"
Akiseta lowered her eyes, and turned her head away. It was an answer in itself.
Serana couldn't believe it. She couldn't believe Akiseta had engineered something like that.
"So that's why I wanted to speak to the Dragonborn. I was hoping to make an arrangement, to avoid any more carnage. After all, it would be a shame if the people of Skyrim knew what their 'savior' has been doing, would it?" Eilotha asked, smirking again.
Akiseta's expression grew more troubled, and her breathing started to get tense.
Serana looked at her, and then turned her gaze to Eilotha. "Akiseta is not making any arrangements with you. We're done here."
"Is that so? Than you tell me this; Do you really think you're getting out of here alive?"
"That's exactly what I think."
Serana dropped her disguise, and took her vampire Lady form. There was enough brief confusion for her to act. She flipped the table over, knocking Eilotha back, and then turned around, and went for one of the Altmer guards. She slashed her claws across his throat, killing him, and then hissed in pain as she felt a piercing sting in her shoulder.
An arrow had been shot at her, and though the wolfsbane wouldn't hurt her, the silver burned.
She pulled the arrow out, and went for another guard. After killing a few more, she heard Akiseta let out a pained shriek, followed by a Shout.
"FUS RO DAH!"
Serana saw Eilotha go flying into the wall. She hit it at an angle, and Serana her a snap. She tuned to Akiseta, and saw the Argonian was clutching her side. A silver dagger lay on the ground, crimson with her blood.
Serana rushed to Akiseta's side as she collapsed on the ground. She was breathing hard and rapidly, her body shaking.
"Silver... wolfsbane..." She gasped out.
"It'd alright. You're going to be fine." Serana tried to assure her.
She put her arms around Akiseta, and helped her to her feet, and tried to consider the next course of action. The fort was filled with Thalmor, and they had more silver and wolfsbane.
Looking around, she noticed a window, and got an idea. She led Akiseta over to it.
"You're probably not going to like this." She said.
She broke the window, and then wrapped her arms tightly around Akiseta. Then, she jumped out the window. The moment she was in the air, she began flapping her wings.
The wings she had in this form weren't ideal for controlled flight. They were more suited for gliding or gaining purchase. But they could be used for flight if needed. She'd done it before. But never while carrying someone else.
Akiseta gripped her arms tightly, her claws digging into Serana's skin as the rest of her body dangled in the air.
Serana flew as much as she could, but trying to fly while carrying someone else, and the sun striking her skin was too much to bear. She lowered enough to set Akiseta down safely, before dropping herself to the ground. She writhed on the snow to try and relieve some of the burning, and then dragged herself into the shade, panting.
She looked over at Akiseta, who had dug a strong healing potion out of her bag, and had just finished drinking it down. She dropped the bottle, and hugged herself with her arms.
Serana changed back, and walked over to her. She put her arms around Akiseta. Akiseta buried her head against Serana shoulder, starting to cry.
Serana held on to her, gently stroking her feathers.