Chapter 4: Prophecy, Insanity and Stupidity

'Damn it.' Serana was so close, the castle just a few hundred paces away. Yet so far… Sithia would never let her go up there once she knew. She might even object violently. But after everything she'd done, she deserved the truth. Maybe the truth could wait a little longer, though.

"I'm not home quite yet—"

"Close enough. Whoever is home, they're not going to want you to be spilling secrets to a stranger. Not if they have any sense." So much for persuading her to let the truth wait.

Sithia took her arm and led her towards the watchtower. "Let's get out of this." Snow was steadily falling as it nearly always did this far north.

Sithia perched on the lowest step spiralling up into the higher levels of the watchtower. She tugged Serana down to sit next to her. She reached over to grip Serana's hand, the enchanted leather gauntlet thrumming against her skin, and squeezed her hand until Serana met her gaze.

"If you want me to trust you, you'd better start talking. Tell me what's going on."

"I won't know until I get inside—"

"Then you can tell me what you know, starting with why your mother locked you away with that Scroll."

Serana looked away. This was not going to end well. The promising friendship that had been blossoming with Sithia was doomed. If by some miracle it wasn't, she would still fall in Sithia's esteem. Damn it! It'd be so much harder to seduce her after this.

Sithia squeezed her hand again. "Trust me. I can help you."

Serana's shoulders slumped. "All right. You've helped me this far. And I do need all the help I can get. It all started when my father came across a prophecy a Moth Priest had recorded from an Elder Scroll. This Scroll."

Sithia's hand slipped away. She'd probably never want to touch her again after this.

"And this prophecy is?"

"The Tyranny of the Sun. Something about vampires not needing to fear the sun anymore by controlling it. If my father can do that, he'll take over the world."

"And how would he do that?"

Serana shrugged. "I don't know. It was only a fragment of the prophecy he found. He needs this Scroll to be read by someone who won't go mad in the process so he can find out what he needs to do. Anyway, my mother and I didn't feel like inviting a war with everyone in Tamriel who'd object to eternal darkness falling. After she fell out with my father trying to get him to see sense, she had me sealed away with it."

Serana held her breath and braced herself for Sithia's reaction. She fearfully raised her eyes to look again at her mortal.

Head propped up on her hands, elbows on her knees, Sithia stared blankly at her.

"Say something!"

Sithia slowly shook her head. "…I'm just trying to understand how in Oblivion you thought this was a good idea."

Serana cringed.

"What were you thinking?" Sithia got to her feet and paced back and forth. "Bringing that here, when it's almost certainly your crazy father in there." She gestured in the direction of the castle, then jabbed a finger at Serana. "When that Scroll is what he needs to bring about this insane prophecy, if he's found a means to safely read it without going crazier."

"He might not be there—"

"If your mother's home, she'd have come for you if the situation had been resolved. Wouldn't she?"

"She…" Serana swallowed, a heavy lump in her throat. "She might have died stopping him."

Sithia stopped dead and frowned down at her. "A falling out, you said. You didn't mention he'd want to kill her."

"What can I say? He's not a good person, even by vampire standards."

"I'm sorry. Hopefully your father hasn't killed her for taking you and his precious Scroll away from him." Sithia shoved her cowl down and ran a hand through her hair. "But do this, and you're almost certainly giving him what he wants when your mother did so much to keep it from him. This is the stupidest idea I've ever heard."

"I know, I know, I just… Even if he is the one here, I need to know if there's any chance he's changed. If absence has made the heart grow fonder, if he's realised what his obsession cost him."

"I can understand that, but is it worth the risk of letting him blot out the sun?"

"I… No." Serana lowered her head, eyes on the ground, grateful that her cheeks couldn't flush with the shame burning in her blood. She felt so selfish for even thinking of it, let alone coming this close to trying. Especially after all her mother's efforts to keep the Scroll safely away from her father.

Sithia put a hand on her shoulder and gave it a reassuring squeeze. "Hey, we could still find out. We leave the Scroll down here just in case it's daddy dear." She looked around, presumably for a hiding place.

"He's not going to believe my mother left me without it."

Sithia brought her other hand down, and she shook Serana slightly. "Tell him she took it with her!" That was very much exasperated mortal.

"He won't believe it. He knows she'd never risk keeping both Scrolls in one place."

Sithia fingers dug into her as her grip tightened. "Wait, what? Both Scrolls?"

"Oh, I forgot to mention that part. Sorry. The prophecy is contained in at least two Scrolls, which my father managed to get his hands on. Mother thought he was getting far too close to his goal when he found that second Scroll, so she fled with both of them, leaving one with me in Dimhollow. It's why he'll kill her if he finds her. If he found her." 'Please be safe, Mother.'

"So you might be taking him the last thing he needs to plunge us all into darkness and all out war." Sithia let go of her, and dragged a hand down her face. She looked down at her wearily. "Tell him she didn't trust you with it. Tell him anything, just don't bring him the Scroll."

"He won't—"

"Serana. I'll be there with you. I'll help convince him."

"Fine. I'm not happy about this; leaving an Elder Scroll lying around is asking for trouble."

Sithia snorted. "Maybe, but taking it up there is worse if the crazy lord of the castle is at home."

"I know. Unless he really has changed, he is crazy. I just wish he hadn't driven my mother crazy with him and pushed us all apart." Serana knocked on the steps, hoping that there was a space inside just right for hiding an Elder Scroll. But no, they were solid rock. "Any idea where to put it?"

Sithia looked out of the narrow slit serving as a window. "I do indeed. How about in the boat, in my knapsack?"

"All right. I guess that would be best, just in case we have to escape in a hurry."

That damn masked cowl was pulled back up the moment they emerged from the watchtower.

"Must you?"

"This again?" Sithia rolled her eyes. "Yes, I do need my cowl on."

"At least leave the mask off. Guessing what your expression is with only your eyes to go by? It gets old fast."

"I'll do that when you don't don your hood."

"That's not the same, I need it with the sun."

"Right. Which explains that." Sithia gestured at her exposed cleavage.

Serana crossed her arms. If she wasn't so annoyed, she'd be amused by the way Sithia's eyes were drawn down when the pressure of her arms on her cuirass exposed a little more of her cleavage. Despite her frustration, it was always satisfying to watch Sithia flush and look away, although it only added to her disappointment that she could see so little of her face. What was the point in making her blush when she couldn't properly enjoy it?

"I'll admit it stings a bit, but it's my head I really need to keep covered."

"Then why don't you adjust your cloak, or wear something else?"

"Because it distracts me a bit from my thirst." That and revealing or not, it was the only thing that remained intact whenever she had to resort to her other form. She'd learned that the hard way. "I need my hood. Do you really need that mask?"

"In this perpetual winter? Yes, I fucking do."

"Fuck you and your damn cowl," Serana muttered, too quietly for Sithia to hear. Her parents would be horrified by such foul language escaping her lips. Sithia was clearly a terrible influence, and one she very much hoped would stick around.

Serana pulled the strap over her head and hefted the cloak-wrapped Scroll in her arms. She shoved it inside Sithia's pack and set it down in the boat, which rocked in the water with the sudden increase in weight. "By the way, why didn't you have me put it in your pack before we reached Dawnstar?"

"Because I wouldn't be able to move, not without ditching some of the junk in my pack. And that junk is treasure to me."

"You stupid Dra—" Serana swallowed the rest of that word when Sithia inhaled sharply, hurt flickering in her eyes. "You stupid… Sithia. I'm sorry. I do know better than to call you by what you are."

"I know. It just… It hurts sometimes." Sithia looked away to glare up at the castle. "So, how am I stupid?"

"I could have carried your pack. I'm not limited by weight, which you must have known when you got me to carry all of those dragon bones and scales."

"Okay, so that was pretty stupid, but it was also stupid not to suggest putting everything in my enchanted knapsack and volunteering to carry it!"

"Yes, all right, can we agree that we're both equally stupid and—"

"Fuck!"

Serana stared. Had Sithia really just propositioned her, if extremely crudely?

"Is your father a mage?"

Apparently not. Or was she worried her father would find out through some obscure spell what they'd been up to? Well, he would know, as would every vampire in there, but not through magic. While vampiric sense of smell wasn't as powerful as lycanthropic, it was more than good enough to tell if scents were mingling. And of course make a pretty good guess as to why.

But if she was wrong about Sithia's intentions, she'd probably mortify them both if she assumed too much. "I doubt it's how he thinks of himself, but he can use a few spells. Mostly alteration and conjuration. Unless he's bothered to learn more in my absence. Why?"

"Because I can still feel the Scroll on you, and I don't think of myself as a mage either. That indescribable aura has rubbed off on you."

Oh. Fuck indeed, just not the fun sort. "Then we'll have to risk it." Serana tugged the Scroll out of Sithia's knapsack, unwrapped it and slung it across her back again.

"Or we could be sensible for once and get out of here."

Serana looked up at the castle and back at Sithia. Pleadingly.

"Oh, all right. Let's get this over with. If he manages to blot the sun out because of this, 'I told you so' is the least you deserve."

'Stupid vampire' was left unsaid, but Serana heard it as clearly as if it had been shouted. Much to her annoyance, she couldn't really argue with that. Her mother would be furious. But she wasn't here, and Serana had to know if there was any chance they could be a family again.

As they started walking up the bridge, Sithia hissed, "This is insane. Remind me why I'm not killing you and taking that Scroll far away from here."

"Because you like me too much?"

Sithia sighed explosively. "Apparently." She warily tapped one of the gargoyles guarding the bridge. It stayed dormant. If Sithia's sword was drawn, it would have been a different story.

"This isn't going to get me drained dry or worse, enthralled, is it?"

"Not if I have anything to do with it. But presuming he's there, my father will want to reward you. If by some miracle it's my mother instead, she'll be too busy expressing her disappointment with me."

"What sort of reward will your father have in mind?"

"Not my hand in marriage, that's for sure."

Sithia choked and punched her arm. Hard enough that she noticed, not hard enough that it really hurt.

Serana laughed, and sobered as she thought about what he might do. "Knowing him, he'll offer to turn you."

"Would he kill me if I refused his generous offer?"

"No, he'd just banish you. If you suddenly want to be a vampire, say so now, as it'd be a lot safer for you if I do it. Not many mortals survived my father's attempts. I doubt he's learned to be gentle in his old age."

Serana was ambushed by mixed feelings at the thought of Sithia asking to be turned. As a vampire, Sithia's blood wouldn't be the same, but Serana's own blood in her fledgling mingled with the dovah sos? That would still be an intoxicating mix. It would also mean Sithia would potentially live forever, just like her. Mortality wouldn't part them…

"Thanks, but I have enough issues with self control without adding bloodlust to that." Well, that was disappointing, but hardly surprising. A vampire hunter, even a part-time one, wouldn't want to become what she hunted.

The portcullis was down, blocking the entrance to the castle.

The thrall serving as the gatekeeper struck the studded wooden barrier with his axe. "You're not welcome—Lady Serana?" He staggered back, his heart stuttering. He looked up to the murder hole above and cupped his hands over his mouth. "Open the gate, Lady Serana is back!"

The portcullis shuddered and slowly rose up into the slot high above.

The gatekeeper stepped aside and bowed deeply. "Welcome home, milady."

Sithia coughed, poorly masking a word: "Princess."

Serana rolled her eyes and stifled a smile. Sithia's irreverence was exactly what she needed now, really. She pulled the door open. It creaked, something her mother would never have allowed. Her father was definitely home, then. With the door open, she could smell him too, with no trace of her mother. His scent was similar to her mother's in potency, but not quite as pure. For all that he boasted of his ancient blood, he was technically a half-blood, if one blessed by Molag Bal to have powers even greater than a Daughter of Coldharbour.

Maybe the difference in his blood was part of the why things started to fall apart with her parents. Her mother had to have been able to feel it, the constant whisper in her blood that she was superior to him. If her father had felt that through their bond, he must have hated that and grown to hate her mother too.

They stepped inside, the door creaking shut behind them. One of her father's lackeys, an Altmer of all things, stormed up to them. "How dare you… trespass… here…" He stared at Serana, eyes flicking between her face and the Scroll jutting over her shoulder. "Serana? Is that truly you?" He didn't wait for an answer, instead hurrying into the great hall, leaning over the banister, crying, "My lord! Everyone! Serana has returned!"

Serana raised an eyebrow. Going by his scent, her father had actually been the one to turn him. Since when had her father allowed an Altmer to receive his gift? Anyone taller than him had always been fed to the death hounds. Maybe her father really had changed…

She followed the Altmer onto the balcony overlooking the great hall, pausing there while he went down into the hall itself. Sithia's footsteps behind her were silent, but her heartbeat was reassuringly close.

Her father's court stared up at her, all exclaiming in wonder at her return and at the sight of the Scroll. Well, all of them apart from two gorging themselves on groaning cattle laid out on the tables. One of the hapless mortals gurgled and fell slack. The vampire, a Redguard, pulled away and beckoned for a replacement. He finally looked up when one failed to arrive and joined his kin in gaping at her. The other feeding vampire carried on regardless. That close to a bleeding mortal, Serana couldn't even tell whether it was male or female, only that it was not an elf, as there were no pointed ears to be seen.

There were a lot of unfamiliar faces. They had all been Nords the last time she was here. Now there was that Altmer, two of those cursed Dunmer, and a Bosmer. She could smell the ancient blood in all of them, only strong enough in a few to have been turned by her father. Those few included the elves, except for the one clutching the broom. She couldn't smell her mother's blood in any of the court – having been turned by her must have been a death sentence, as her father would have purged the court of anyone connected with her mother after she fled.

None of her own fledglings were there, but that was hardly surprising. Unlike her mother, she'd never been interested in ruling over the court. That meant those she'd turned had no interest in hanging around for the petty infighting, especially as their loyalty was to her, not her father. Presuming her father hadn't killed them as he had her mother's fledglings. She hoped not, they deserved better than that.

Her father was conspicuous by his absence, his throne empty. The Altmer took a seat on the high table, next to a bearded Nord who glowered at the elf. Rival advisors of her father, then.

She finally caught sight of her father, in the family portrait behind the high table. He'd repainted it to leave out her mother, changing the composition. Wait… Serana's breath caught. She was depicted standing on her father's right. The place that had always been reserved for the son he'd never had. Maybe he really had realised what he'd lost.

A movement caught her eye on the opposite balcony, as her father strode into view. She hoped he might pause and exchange a longing glance with her, but no. He didn't even look at her.

By the time she descended into the hall her father stood before the dais, arms spread in welcome. "My long-lost daughter returns at last."

His eyes immediately slipped from her face to linger hungrily on the top of the Scroll poking over her shoulder. With that her hope that he'd changed back into the father she loved died a painful death. His next words twisted the knife further. "I trust you have my Elder Scroll?"

His commanding voice echoed in the silent hall, his court holding their breath and all eyes on the touching reunion before them. Serana grit her teeth and closed the distance to stand just out of her father's reach. If by some miracle he decided to embrace her, he'd have to put some more effort into it.

Sithia stepped forward beside her, shoulder deliberately brushing against hers in silent support. "No, she's just carrying a replica around. I trust you have eyes? Why ask the question when you already know the answer? Or is that really the only thing you can think of the first time you've seen your daughter in centuries?"

Her father's lips thinned. He glared down at Sithia. "Of course I'm delighted to see my daughter. I do not need to say the words aloud, mortal. If her traitor mother were here, I would even let her watch this reunion before putting her head on a spike."

Serana flinched, and Sithia stiffened. "And I thought I had parental issues," she muttered.

Her father looked back at Serana. "Who is this stranger you have brought into our midst?" He shot a disapproving glance at Sithia. If she didn't give him the reason to be grateful to her latest pet, he might take exception and break the laws of hospitality. Not that he ever really followed them.

"My saviour who freed me, Sithia." Serana turned to Sithia and gestured at her father. "Harkon, my father."

"Lord of this court," he added, irritation colouring his voice for a moment. He'd always hated it whenever she forgot to mention his precious title to anyone she introduced to him.

He smiled at Sithia, his eyes cold. "Then I have you to thank for the return of my Scroll. And my daughter."

Serana flinched. Damn it… She really was an afterthought to him.

"Reveal yourself. I wish to behold the face of such a worthy mortal."

Sithia hesitated, but fortunately didn't try her father's lack of patience. She pulled both mask and cowl down.

Her father inclined his head in what passed for a bow from him. "Charmed. Now, your reward for returning my most valuable possession to me. And Serana, of course."

Yet again, an afterthought. 'Father, please, give me a sign that you care. That you missed me.'

"Why is this Elder Scroll so important to you?"

Her father stroked his beard, eyeing Sithia thoughtfully. "Ordinarily I would not reveal this to an outsider, and especially not a mortal. But you deserve to know the truth for the service you have done me. Consider it part of your reward."

He started to pace up and down, his cloak spreading like wings behind him with every turn.

"I was once a mighty king. My realm was vast, my power over my subjects absolute, but still death threatened to claim me as I grew older and fell ill. The Lord Molag Bal granted me immortality, and my wife and daughter, as his most faithful and powerful followers." He puffed out his chest. He was ridiculously proud of such a degrading ritual, but then he never mentioned that part to anyone. Probably not even himself. Maybe he thought he'd forget it if he ignored it. Serana doubted that worked any better for him than it did for her. The touch of Molag Bal was not something that could be forgotten. Ever.

"But immortality was not enough, for the sun restricts us just as it does our thinner blooded kin. We do not burn, but we are weakened. I searched long and hard for a way to end the tyranny of the sun, and eventually came across a prophecy. The secret to fulfilling it is contained in my Elder Scroll." He gestured at Serana. At her Scroll.

"A Scroll that my wife stole from me. She will pay dearly for that betrayal. But she has failed in her attempt to thwart my cause. Now that I have my Scroll back, all I need is a Moth Priest to read it, and then…" He stopped pacing and reached out to Sithia, who leaned away from him. "Eternal night will fall. This alarms you, mortal, but it need not. I offer you my blood. Take it and you will join us, rulers of the vampiric future that awaits."

Damn it. Even if he had missed her, his obsession still consumed him. Even more so, something she hadn't thought possible.

Nothing else for it now.

"Well, mortal? Sithia, what say you?"

"…You're insane."

"Explain," he snapped, folding his arms across his chest. His glowing orange eyes flashed brighter in his anger.

"Seriously? You don't see the problem?" Sithia pinched the bridge of her nose, exhaled slowly and looked steadily over at Serana's crazy father. "If you manage to put the sun out, you'll doom us all. Plants will die without the sun, animals will die without plants, and then man and mer die too. That leaves vampires to go bloodstarved and feral, presuming that man and mer don't kill you all first before they die."

"For those who lack the power, perhaps they will starve." Her father shrugged. "But Magelight will ensure our cattle survive. The other mortals are no match for us. Now, make your choice. Are you with us or against us?" He grinned, fangs unsheathed. "Perhaps I can convince you. Behold the power!"

Her father grunted, doubling over. Shadows covered him from head to toe, congealing and exploded in a shower of blood as he straightened up, transformed into his so-called true form.

'More like behold the monstrosity.' Serana grimaced and looked away. It was truly ugly. She hated using it, how it made her look but most of all for the way it made her feel. She wished she never had to use it, but sometimes she had no choice. Maybe it felt different for her father. Why else would he love it as much as he seemed to? From his court's lack of reaction, they were used to seeing it.

Sithia staggered back, eyes wide. Judging by the accusing glare she shot at Serana, she would have appreciated a warning about that. "No thanks. I don't trust you not to turn me into a snack instead. That and becoming an overgrown bat-woman hybrid isn't on my to do list."

Her father bared his teeth, hissing with displeasure. "Then you are prey. I will spare your life this once, but you are banished."

"I'll show myself out." Sithia turned to leave.

"You dare turn your back on me?" Her father's ragged wings beat, lifting his clawed feet off the floor, sickly red light flickering under them.

Sithia didn't turn back, instead starting to walk away. "Am I supposed to say formal goodbyes on being banished? Kiss your boots – sorry, claws – for the privilege? Come on, Serana, let's go. Unless you want to stay with these lunatics?"

Serana winced. Damn it. Her father did not allow 'guests' who insulted him to leave under their own power.

Harkon growled and raised a hand, claws glowing purple.

'I'm sorry, Sithia. You're about to suffer the worst hangover you've ever had, without the pleasure of drinking to earn it.' Worse, she couldn't even warn her. There wasn't time.

Too late, Sithia turned back. She must have sensed the magic building behind her.

"Begone!"

The moment the spell left her monstrous father's claws, Serana wrapped her arms around Sithia, letting the banishment portal drag her through Oblivion with her Dragonborn.

AN: So, was anyone expecting that? This does follow the Dawnguard questline, but with a few differences. That was one of them.

Coming up next: Harkon's displeasure makes itself known.