Arc 2—Chapter 7:

I didn't realize it when she asked; the thought struck me a little later as we continued our discussion but the first question out of the woman's mouth was "Who sent you?"

Still surprised, I answered truthfully, realizing almost as soon as the words left my mouth that I'd given away more than I should. Looking at her, and particularly her eyes, I asked, "Are you a vampire?"

When she confirmed it, she mentioned not being sure if she could trust me, reflecting almost perfectly the thoughts going through my mind about her. Since we were at war with the vampires, the simplest thing might have been to kill her then and there, to eliminate one more vampire from our list of possible opponents. However, something told me that she was essential to my mission, though, in truth, I had no idea how. Until I figured that out, I had to not only put up with her but I was also saddled with the task of keeping her safe. Therefore, I put on a happy face, or at least, the happiest I could force, and tried to learn more about her and why she was there.

"So why were you here, locked away like this?" I asked, trying to get answers without giving away any more than I already had.

Of course, she didn't trust me any more than I trusted her, so she replied, "That's complicated. And quite a long story. If you want to hear it, you'll have to help me get back to my family's home."

I stared at her. "Excuse me, but you're a vampire. And based on the looks of this place, you've probably been in there for a good while. Don't you think your parents are, well, sorry to be blunt, but, dead?"

She smiled. "No, not dead, but what some call undead."

"Undead," I said, staring at her. "You mean...as in your parents are vampires, too?"

When she nodded, I tried to control my growing anger. "And you want me to just deliver you to them, nice and tidy and wrapped up with a bow? And then, what, I'll be dessert?"

She shook her head. "Well, like I said, it's pretty complicated, but my family was ever the complicated one."

In the discussion that followed, she made my heart want to believe that she had really been trapped in some type of deathless sleep for hundreds or possibly even thousands of years and that I could trust her, but the little voice in the back of my mind was shouting warnings that I couldn't overlook. There was that little matter of us being at war with the vampires and, in admitting that she was one, I had to question everything she said. Then there was that odd opening question: "Who sent you?"

It was strange that she asked that instead of "Who are you?" or "Where are we?" or even "Why am I here?" Even after all the time she'd apparently been sealed in the vault, she was worried about the identity of the person who'd caused her rescue rather than any of the other things that she might have questioned. Could she have been caught between two sides and been sealed in the vault for possibly countless centuries as a result? Could she still be in danger from one or possibly even both of those sides?

After considering all of this, I wanted to believe her story but I was quite skeptical about it all.

"You admit that you've been there for countless years. Why do you think your home would still be there, wherever 'there' is, untouched by the ravages of time?"

She shook her head again, but this time with a sympathetic look. "Perhaps you don't understand as well as I thought. Vampire? Unchanging immortal? You get it? While I may look it, I'm not some young girl looking on a young man a few years older and maybe a few years wiser. See, I was in my early twenties when I experienced the Change, but I lived for a number of years after that, and then for untold years here in this...this prison."

"I don't dispute that," I said, ignoring the gibe about my age, "but what makes you think your family would still be living in the same house as you did way back then? Don't you think it would make the neighbors somewhat suspicious when your folks don't age? The unwanted attention would probably make them move from time to time, don't you think?"

She nodded this time. "Point taken, but your view is defined by your own limitations. House? Try castle, or, in actuality, realm. Think far from anything, the ultimate in privacy. Nosy neighbors would not be a problem, believe me. Add to that, despite the Change we experienced, we don't particularly like change itself. After all, we've set ourselves up to not age, right? Knowing my father, I suspect that extends to his domicile as well."

If she was telling lies, she was a very practiced liar, making me want to believe her.

"Okay, if you really think you can find them, and that it will somehow help, I'll take you there, but…I need to do something first. I need to report to my people."

"I'm trusting you. I think you need to return that favor. We can go see your people after we see my parents so, hopefully, we'll know what to tell them about what's really going on. If you can't do that, I guess we'll have to split up and I'll just make my way on my own. Somehow."

I looked at her for several seconds before finally making a decision. "You win. We'll do it your way. First, though, we have to get out of this place."

"You must know more about that than me, so lead on. By the way, my name is Serana. It's nice to meet you.""

~ESV~

The surprisingly polite vampire had a bag and a long case strapped across her back. She carried some type of old-style dagger at her waist, but, not counting her fangs, she appeared to be otherwise unarmed. Not knowing how many vampires or other creatures I might have crept past while getting that deep into Dimhollow Crypt, I decided to press onward in hopes that there would be another exit and that we wouldn't have to pass anything hostile on the way. My main concern in that was protecting the young lady and getting her out safely. I crossed the small bridge and dealt with two rockmen, gargoyles, before going back to get her.

"Come on. It's safe now. There may be more ahead, so just stay back and keep your head down."

She smiled at me. Thinking it was gratitude, I smiled and nodded in return. We'd gone some distance when I started wondering if I'd made a mistake about there being a second exit. Her face started showing signs of concern about that time, too.

"Try not to worry," I told her. "I'll do my best to protect you."

"That's very nice of you," she replied, with that same, curious smile. "You have my thanks and my gratitude. Now, are you sure you we're going the right way?"

"Papa, why did you think there might be another exit?" asks Aerica. "Why didn't you just go back out the way you came in? Wouldn't that make more sense?"

"Good question, sweetheart. And quite logical," I answer, "but it has a lot to do with my experience with caves, particularly improved ones, mines, and old ruins. See, the old Nords who dug or built these things were very interested in self preservation; they didn't want to be trapped inside in the event that there was a cave-in or something similar so they often included what people these days call an escape route or tunnel. Our people who are involved in such work almost always do it today, too. Therefore, I was taking a chance, but I figured it was a reasonable risk."

I don't say it but I also wanted to get out of that place as quickly as possible. I'd been in that evil place for many hours and I was being followed by a beautiful vampiress. Fatigue was beginning to set in on me, too, so we had to stop a couple of times as we climbed upward out of the depths. When we stopped, we talked. When we talked, she pried. And she was quite good at that.

"So, do you have anyone...special? Girlfriend? Wife? Mistress? Lover?"

I looked at her, hesitant to answer. I really didn't know if I wanted her to know anything about those I loved since that might put them at risk. Unfortunately, she was quite beautiful and I wasn't exactly a thespian or even a street-corner actor playing for alms; she read the answer, plain as day, on my face.

"Well, I'm...happy for you, but must admit that I'm a little disappointed for myself. See, when I went through the Change, it was really hard. Molag Bal—he's the Daedric prince who changed us, if you didn't recognize the name—did some bad things to me. Very bad. He…he used me, much more than I was expecting and did a whole lot more than I ever dreamed…"

She wiped tears from her eyes, surprising me that a vampire could cry. "Aerik, it hurt. So much. He wasn't gentle, and he didn't care. It took years before I was okay, physically and mentally, to try to take a lover. It didn't end well—no! I didn't kill him!—but I tried again, a number of times, sometime later and eventually found some degree of the pleasure my mother had led me to expect. It's been quite a while since then and I'm quite out of practice, but I think I could have more than made up for what I lack in skill with sheer enthusiasm. I think we could have really..."

I'll never forget how she looked up at the ancient shoring above us and laughed. "...have brought the roof down!"

Thoughts of the pain she must have endured followed by the prospect of making love to Serana made me even more uncomfortable, but I recalled reading in one of Farengar's books that vampires were believed to sometimes have some type of erotic connection to, or, some theorized, even some type of romantic hold over their victims. I wondered if she was doing that to me then, or if I was just being weak. Fortunately, what she said next put me at least somewhat at ease.

"Don't worry. I'm a vampire but I've learned to control my, ahem, appetites. All of them. And when it comes to lovers, I've had a number since getting over Him, but I've never, ever done cheaters, and I won't start now. So...who is she? Your someone special? Tell me about her."

Still near exhaustion, I rose rather than answering her question. "Sorry, I think we better get moving. We still have a long way to go."

The route we were taking wasn't as safe as I'd hoped, but Serana wasn't the defenseless young lady I'd feared either. She unleashed a powerful jolt of lightning at the skeleton warrior who stepped out of the alcove at me, blasting it into pieces that flew all over the place.

"Glad to see I've still got it," she said as she smiled once again. This time, though, I realized that little smile wasn't gratitude but was in fact amusement at my attempted gallantry. Nodding, she stepped in front of me, taking the lead for a little while, leaving me to only nod in return.

Our route was rising as we trudged onward, giving me hope that we were getting close to an exit. The passage seemed to widen ahead so I tapped on her shoulder and whispered, "Let's move quietly and try to avoid anything like explosive spells that will attract attention, okay?" I moved back up front, moving as silently as I could with Serana following along behind me.

Of course, despite my efforts and use of my muffle skill, I still clanked at the wrong time, attracting the attention of the powerful draugr in the chamber. They came at me and I was forced to send a couple of them flying with my shout, but it wasn't enough. Two more were forcing me backward as I tried to keep between them and Serana.

"Aerik? You were saying about the lightning spell?" she called from behind me, more sweetly and innocently than I could have imagined under the circumstances. "Something about avoiding using it?"

"Use it!" I cried as the two moved back toward me. "We've already got their attention!"

"Well, I thought so, but I just wanted to be sure," she said with a laugh before unleashing a powerful arc that sent the two back ones flying again. That allowed me to cut one of mine down so she could get into position for a second jolt that hit the other one. Moments later, we had dispatched it, too, and were soon on our way out of the cave.

~ESV~

It took several hours but we worked our way to the west and eventually found our way out of the mountains as the sun set. Serana had complained quite frequently and rather loudly of the sun's heat and brightness as we traipsed along, but she finally either adjusted to it or realized that I wasn't going to sympathize about her plight. Thereafter, she held her tongue for the most part.

We stopped for a short break in the middle of a small clearing with a fallen tree we could use as a seat. She lowered her hood and let down her hair, raking her fingers through it to straighten it as best as she could while she talked about sunset being her favorite time of the day.

"I see the sun, the beauties of Tamriel, and wonders of the sky above without feeling as if my blood is boiling and without having any exposed skin feel as if it's being seared off my body."

I reached into my pouch and found my little boar bristle brush. It's small for travel but it works well enough to keep my hair and beard reasonably groomed. I tried to make sure it was clear of any of my blond hairs before I offered it to her. Her eyes lit up on seeing it. Taking it, she jumped up, kissed me lightly on the cheek, and then sat back down on the log where she brushed and brushed.

I wasn't sure exactly where we were, but the location was too close to Morthal for comfort. I pulled out my map to study it in the remaining twilight while Serana brushed and was captivated by watching a white bunny hop around on the snow in the clearing.

There was an inn in Morthal; I badly needed a good night's sleep but I needed to protect Idgrod even more. If we were to walk into the town, she would quickly learn of our presence and then Serana would know of her soon thereafter.

"Mor-thal? I don't recognize the name of that place," said Serana from over my shoulder, still brushing, "but I'll bet anything it has an inn. And if it has an inn, I can get a bath! Gods, that will be nice. I'll soak for hours. Maybe even days."

"No," I said, more forcefully than I intended. "Ahem, we can't go there."

"Listen, about the only thing I want more in this world than to see my parents is a bath. That's the nearest place. So what's stopping us?"

"Ah, the, ah, guards, they don't like me there."

"You? You're not wanted, surely?"

"Oh, no, but I've, ahem, had a couple of run-ins with the Morthal Guard. I'd prefer to stay out of that town."

"Okay, you do that," she agreed. "You stay right outside of town and sleep under the stars and the snow, but I'm going in to that town to get a nice room and long, hot bath. I'll find you in the morning."

"I don't know how it was in your day, but inns cost septims these days."

"Septims? I don't know that term."

"Gold."

"I do know that one. Unfortunately..."

~ESV~

We slept in a pile of loose hay in a shed near an isolated farmhouse, but were gone before the farmer came out the next morning. We traveled again until almost sunset that day before reaching the coast and then turning to the southwest.

"See! I told you! There it is!" exclaimed Serana, pointing to a pitiful looking little dock jutting a short way out into the water and what looked like a cloud some distance off the coast.

"There's no boat. What good does a dock do if you don't have a boat," I groused. "We're going to have to go all the way back to Solitude to get a boat."

Serana was ignoring me, doing something instead with the eight-sided brooch pin that held her cloak in place. She gave a definite nod, took off her boots and stockings, and then sat down on the side of the dock, putting her feet in the water.

"Sit with me and enjoy the sky. It shouldn't be long."

I didn't know what she meant, but moments later I was barefoot and sitting right next to her. We talked and laughed for the time until the darkness was complete. Then we looked up at the moons and the stars. She leaned against me, comfortably, as if we were old friends or more.

"Listen. He comes."

"He?" I asked, scrambling back into my boots as quickly as I could.

"Rognar. He's the ferryman. He's an oarsman, actually, but he always preferred to be called a ferryman. I guess it's a status thing. He won't charge me since I'm family, but he'll charge you a coin. I doubt that he'll care if it's one of your Sedtoms or Septims or whatever they're called. Just be ready."

The boat appeared in the dim glow of my just-cast candlelight spell with a single oarsman. Rather than the vampire I was expecting, I was surprised to see a bony skeleton wearing rusty chainmail and a tattered tunic.

"Rognar, this is my friend, Aerik," said Serana. "Aerik, this is Rognar, one of my family's oldest retainers. It is so nice to see you again, old friend."

The skeleton bowed, waving her aboard with a flourish of its pointed steel helmet. Turning to me, he thrust out his bony hand toward me. I held out a single gold septim toward him, which he took between the bones of his thumb and forefinger. He waved me aboard with his other hand and soon we were heading away from the coast.

~ESV~

"My long-lost daughter! You return home at last. I trust you have my Elder Scroll in that case on your back?"

"Greetings, my Father. After all these years, that's the first thing you ask me? Yes, I have the scroll."

I looked at Serana, trying hard to hide my surprise at the revelation Lord Harkon had just made and which she had just confirmed. We'd traveled nearly half way across Skyrim together and she'd kept the case a closely held secret. Now, I was even more shocked about the case's contents than any of the various and sometimes ridiculous guesses I'd silently made to entertain myself as we walked.

"I am by all means delighted to see you and have your return to our home, my daughter. Must I really say the words aloud for your ears to hear? Do you not know this in your heart?"

The bitterness between them hung in the air for a moment before Harkon turned to the other members of his court with a sweep and then back to Serana. He, I suspected, was an actor above all others.

"Dear, if only your traitorous mother were here! Yes, I would let her watch this touching reunion before driving her head on a spike outside our gate. Now tell me, my girl, who is this stranger you have brought into our midst?"

"Father, this is Aerik, my savior, the one who freed me."

Turning to me, he nodded his head, low, almost as if a bow, before saying, "Aerik, for my daughter's safe return to us, you have my deepest gratitude. In fact, you have done a great service to me and you must allow me to reward you. There is only one gift that I can grant that is equal to the return of the Elder Scroll and my daughter. My blood, I offer you, to take and drink, to become one of us, immortal, never to fear death again."

Aerica started looking a little sick at the thought of drinking the blood, but the boys are hanging on every word.

"Did you laugh at him, Grandpa?" asks Andres. "Did you tell him what he could do with his stupid gift?"

"Yeah, Daddy! Did you tell him you were the Dragonborn and didn't need his yucky old blood?"

I sigh before nodding, but I don't tell them of the hesitation I felt in my heart as I considered his offer. The chance to live forever, never aging, was an incredible offer that I considered for far longer than my children or anyone else in Skyrim would have liked. That he said, "Well? I'm waiting?" was the final embarrassment before I finally forced myself to speak.

"I appreciate your most generous offer but I must decline."

The bright-red look of anger covered his face.

"Then go, never to return. I spare you this once as your reward for returning the Scroll and my daughter to me. I will not be so generous again. In fact, if ever our paths cross again, anywhere in Tamriel, I will gladly feast upon your blood. Now, go! Begone, before I change my mind and do it now."

There was a look of fear on Serana's face as a group of vampires pushed me toward the door, down the ramp, and back into the boat.

I had failed. I had taken her and the Elder Scroll and given them to the one who was our worst enemy. I'd failed to protect her and, in the process, had lost our only lead. It was about that time that I realized I'd also lost the artifact, an Elder Scroll, that I'd been sent to Dimhollow Crypt to find in the first place.

Left on the dock by the bone ferryman, I looked out, unseeing, into the darkness, and then, with the weight of my many failures on my shoulders, started the long journey to Fort Dawnguard.

~ESV~