The moondial was beautiful in the light of the two half-moons with a thriving garden of poisonous and nonpoisonous flowers blooming around. Torch bugs and luna moths fluttering around felt like it was a garden meant for spriggons. The night breeze was gentle. It was peaceful. Ryvren almost hated it. The vampire lord stood before the moondial, replaying his old friend's words over and over. He deeply inhaled, closing in his glowing eyes. Every time he tried to picture his wife's face, a flash of the charred flesh flashed in his mind, then replayed his daughter running to him and snatched by the Dawnguard. He remembered when he decided to join the Court and became a vampire lord. He thought he would be Lord Harkon's right-hand man. Instead, the lord was twisted and mad with power. Ryvren was already power-hungry and now, the Dawnguard destroyed his home. The price of choosing this path ended up destroying his family.

Celebrate her life, Cyldris had said.

Cyldris didn't know the truth.

"Serana saw you out here," a soft voice had spoken behind him.

"I feel like I am at war with myself," he lowly admitted. "When I became a vampire, I didn't think of what it would do to my family. I didn't think it would get my wife killed and my children taken." He turned to Valerica, Serana's mother. "Serana told me about the ritual. Did you or Harkon think about it or just have her do it?"

Valerica took a breath, gazing ahead of herself as she joined his side. "It was what Molag-Bal wanted. No one questions a Daedric Prince. I just wish Serana didn't have to go through it, but it was expected of her. Do I regret it? It has been too long to carry such a regret and so much more has happened after. I just wish I didn't lose Harkon."

"Were you ever happy?"

"More than words can say," she whispered, slightly bowing her head.

"Faran told me to turn Muiri." He looked ahead of himself. "I lost the nerve. I told her about it and she wanted to willingly join me, but I couldn't do it. She wanted to be with me forever. I told her I would when the time was right." He inhaled. "I wanted her to live a normal life a little bit longer and the kids to have a somewhat normal family, but I didn't tell her that. They deserve normal. When I became a vampire, Muiri was scared. She was scared she was losing me if not already lost me. We had a rough year as it was and now looking back, I didn't think I was going to lose her. I kept promising her I'd return home…." He bowed his head.

"After the ritual," her heavy words earned Ryvren's gaze, "Harkon and I–" She gently smiled. "–we were happy. Forever was a beautiful word to us. Serana and I healed from our rituals and we were a happy family. She loved her father– I loved her father." Anger and pain contorted her face as she lowered her glowing gaze. "Until he became obsessed with that prophecy and that potential power." She looked at Ryvren. "Would have turning your wife saved her life? Would you have the same dreams of forever that Harkon and I once shared? Or would you have eventually turned your children, too, and force them to watch you become a monster Harkon once was?" She bared her fangs. "You already kill for money, Listener. You are vampire lord." She stood in front of him, looking up in his eyes. "You are knee-deep in blood. You have the same hunger Harkon had, but you realized it when Serana's life was in danger. Tell me: if it wasn't for Serana, would you have joined him?"

"Yes," he calmly admitted, looking the woman in the eyes.

His answer unfazed her. "If Molag-Bal Himself told you to give your wife to him, would you have?"

"No."

Valerica tilted her head, blinking. "You would disobey? A daedric follower such as yourself?"

"I would never give my wife to any Prince," he stated.

The woman quizzically stared at him. "Serana told me you'd slay gods to protect your family and you'd disobey a Daedric Prince to do the same. Your heart may be black and blood as ice, but when it comes to your family, they are your life. From what I heard, your wife loved you more than anything and your children love you as if you raised them their whole lives. Tell me: do you think your children are better without you?"

The thought of Aventus and Lucia living a normal, happy life with a normal, mortal family made his gut twist. They would have a mother again and a father who was not a murderer nor a vampire. Aventus may get the idea of being an assassin out of his head. If he got them back now, he would drag them to the Dark Brotherhood Sanctuary until he found themselves a new home. There is a man in Marthol that can cure vampirism, but they would still be the son and daughter of the Listener. "I am not going to abandon my children. I am going to cure myself of this when my children are safe. I cannot stop being the Listener, but I can stop being a vampire. They know what I do and I will do anything to not have any of them follow my steps." It always made him sick when Aventus would eagerly talk about becoming an assassin, but something tells him that the idea was never going to leave his son's head. He was going to put an end to that. "Are my children better off without me? Yes. They won't have a monster for a father, but I never hurt them. I can't hurt them. If the Dawnguard slay me, then I died trying to get my children back. I only hope they do not witness it." He looked away from the woman, silently praying to Sithis that fate would not be that cruel to his children.

"We both made wrong choices for our children, Ryvren." Her voice broke his thoughts. "I hid Serana away without telling her where we were going. She was never meant to be found and stay locked in that crypt until the end of time." She turned away. "She has wasted so many years…." She looked back at him. "You are not Harkon. You chose to aid Serana. You chose to protect your wife from this path we walk. You gave up your addiction when you were going to lose your family. No, you cannot wash the blood from your hands, but you are still their father and they need you. Ryvren, you are a better father, than most."

Ryvren looked her.

"Serana will understand for you getting cured as do I. Choices are made and paths are walked, but sometimes, it is not too late to turn back."

"It was after my wife died," he grimly stated.

"You didn't slay your wife, Ryvren, and," she looked to the main door, "you do not have to walk alone."

He turned to Serana approaching them and Valerica began to walk away.

"Everything okay?" Serana asked, watching her mother leave.

"After this is over, I'm going to Marthol to cure the myself of vampirism," he quietly stated. There was no point in sugarcoating it or holding it till the last minute.

His friend looked up at him, puzzled, but nodded. "I understand. You will still be my friend, Ryvren. We've been through too much to call it quits over moral dilemmas." She crossed her arms, avoiding his gaze. "Unless, of course, you'd rather cut all ties due to your family– which I understand."

"No."

She looked at him.

He stepped closer to her. "I never want to cut ties with you."

A soft smile formed on her lips with a light in her red eyes.

Despite the sunlight draining their energy, Serana and Ryvren left Castle Volkihar at sunrise and arranged to meet the other vampires outside of Riften in the following morning. Dressed in the ebony armor with Auriel's Bow and Bloodcursed elven arrows on his back, Ryvren walked to allow Serana to ride Shadowmere. He was used to traveling during the day more so than her. The first couple of hours in the journey was in silence. It was a day's journey to Riften and then in the morning, the sun would turn dark and the Dawnguard would be slain. The vampires would no longer be hunted and no one would hurt his family ever again. After this, he needed to find a new home. He could just get a new house in Marthol, but that was too close to the ashes. Maybe somewhere else in the hold, but the kids needed some place close to a city or town and he needed to be close to the Sanctuary. The Pale was too snowy. Maybe Whiterun?

"Are you going to miss being a vampire?" Serana suddenly questioned.

Ryvren nodded. "Yes. I will." He smirked. "As strange as it sounds."

She sadly chuckled. "It's going to be weird without you around. I'm going to miss our adventures, too. The Forgotten Vale was beautiful. Freezing, but beautiful. You took me to more places than I would have ever had thought."

He looked at her. "There may be more."

"That would be dangerous. For both of us. I know we'll still be in contact–"

"You think I care?"

She laughed. "True. You'll cut heads off before anyone could talk."

He hummed in amusement, then frowned as he looked ahead of himself. "But the kids…. I don't have anyone to look after them anymore. I don't know how I'm going to go to Sanctuary with them. I won't leave them with just anyone and I don't want to take them to the Sanctuary with me. It's not a place for them and I don't want to expose that to them."

"I'm sure you can talk to Nazir about it." She smirked at him. "Expose? You're the Listener. Besides, Aventus wants to be an assassin, doesn't he?"

"I'm going to talk to him about that," he grumbled. "He's not going to follow my steps, that's for certain."

"You always were a good father."

When he first met Aventus, he never would have thought he'd end up adopting him. Muiri always wanted to have children, but wasn't able to and Ryvren never wanted kids, but when they married, his mind had changed. They found Aventus and the boy was thrilled with their decision and cried when they had thought of him to adopt. He was also excited that the assassin who accepted his contract was now his father. In the beginning, he used to hound his new father to teach him to be an assassin, but Ryvren always told him he would when he was older. Then the Dunmer found Lucia in the streets of Whiterun not long after. Abandoned. He didn't have the heart to leave her and her new family welcomed her with open arms. Until his own additions started to best him. The next high and drink was all that he could think about and even the Brotherhood was getting worried. After only a year with the kids, Muiri threatened to take them and leave him behind if he didn't get sober.

"No," he darkly admitted. "I wasn't always a good father."

"You got sober for them and despite your tragic loss, you didn't run to the tavern to get hammered, so that's a good start. Or a skooma den for that matter."

"If I don't get my kids back, then I will."

Serana glared at him. "Over my dead body." She looked ahead of herself.

"Serana?"

"Hm?"

"Thanks."

"Of course."

He smirked, hearing the faint smile in her voice.

Taking rests in towns along the way, the duo continued to the Rift. They still had a few hours of daylight left when they stopped in Ivarstead for food. The plan was they were going to camp outside of Riften to draw less attention to themselves, then in early morning, rendezvous with the other vampires and put their attack into motion. They were so close the fort to the point that Ryvren was eager to storm the fort himself and slaughter all of the Dawnguard, but he was no fool. It would be suicide and he was an assassin. He knew to be patient.

Finding a quiet clearing away from animal dens, foot traffic, and caves, the pair set up camp. Ryvren started a fire with a small burst of flames from his hand, then removed his weapons. When the sky was starting to darken, Serana went to the lake for a bath. He wasn't worried about her because he knew she could take care of herself. He changed out of his armor into a simple tunic that was stuffed in a knapsack strapped to Shadowmere. He removed the horse's gear and gave her some oats. He laid on his bedroll, staring at the lights dancing in reds and golds in the dark sky.

When Serana came back, her black hair was dripping and her eyes were glowing like animal's in the dark. "Your turn." She sat on her bedroll across the fire and scooted closer to the flames to warm up.

"I never asked…do you want to be human again?" He looked at her.

She shrugged. "Never really thought about it. It'll be weird to age again, though." She looked at him. "Why?"

He shrugged. "Just curious. You never told me how old you were when you changed."

"I don't remember. Do you want me to come with you when you get cured?"

"I haven't thought of that. If you want to. I don't mind either way."

"Well," she removed her boots and cape. "I'm going to sleep. Wake me up when it's my turn to keep watch." She crawled into her bedroll and turned away from the fire.

The Dunmer gazed into the flames and saw the manor burning.