Chapter Twenty-Four
"Wow... The stars are so beautiful."
Yosa'Min looked at her sire, arching a brow slightly with confusion. The sun had dipped beneath the horizon, nothing but stray rays of purplish golden light left of the great scourge to blaze at them furiously. She turned her gaze heavenward, and was startled to see that while only a handful of stars should have been clearly visible while the rest of the night sky would be blurry orbs of light, she was instead looking at a sky of wondrous stars. Blazing balls of fire, a variety of sizes and colors, danced in the sky as if they were all listening to some tune. Yosa'Min's jaw dropped ever so slightly, eyes widening as she spotted familiar constellations and suddenly they seemed so clear. The haze of distance reduced, the intensity of them magnified. The very same stars she'd seen for years now were suddenly foreign and strange and beautiful.
"By Nocturnal's Cloak, are those even the same stars I looked at for so many years?" She gaped, unable to take her eyes away even to check how close the boat was getting to the shore. The thrall that stood guard outside the castle constantly was ferrying every departing vampire across in groups, the small little boat unable to carry too many at a time and instead each left in whatever assortment they were going to seek out the Moth Priest in. The lapping of waves at the wooden frame or the slapping of the oars was very much so forgotten to the redguard as she stared at the blazing orbs. A curtain of multiple hues of green and blue laced its way across, waving back and forth like a silk sheet in the wind, up and down in rhythmic motions that hypnotized Yosa'Min. The sky, so clear and beautiful, seemed so vast even with the two moons looming as they always did.
Serana's face was graced with a frown as a sad memory sprung to mind. "They really haven't changed."
"Truly? They look as if Ruptga put them there himself in the time since we entered the castle!" Yosa'Min stared yet, an unfamiliar sensation in her chest. There was so much beauty to be seen in the world that she painfully realized had become so mundane and trivial to her that she could no longer see it. Sorrows and pain had become a shroud about her face, keeping her from witnesses the glory of the world that yet lived.
The nord's face drew into utter confusion at the redguard who'd just used a daedric lord as a swear, and then referenced what she assumed was a Yokudan god in essentially two breaths. Serana couldn't help but wonder if Yosa'Min truly wasn't one for gods and masters and thusly didn't care what she said in that regard. Shrugging it off, Serana's burning gaze scanned the approaching shoreline while the Dragonborn continued to sit in awe of the night. "You know when I was in that tomb, I didn't exactly dream," Serana suddenly said, drawing Yosa'Min's attention back to her fully. It made the sire a bit happy to have it so undivided so swiftly. "I can't really recall what I was doing instead, but I do know that often enough there were memories. This sky and the stars... I missed it." Her gaze flicked to the aurora that danced still, high above them yet feeling close enough to reach out and touch. "Not the weather though," she snickered.
"Skyrim hasn't changed too much for you I hope."
A small smirk dawned Serana's face and she shook her head. "Only the places, it's still as cold and beautiful as ever. Plus, the people, they never really change no matter how fancy a place they call their home is now. Solitude was a hamlet really, I'm curious to see what it looks like now up close."
"Big," Yosa'Min instantly said, recalling her time spent in the hold during her adventures. "Lots of people live there now for a Skyrim city. There's a great big fort and a castle out on the sea spire the cliffs are connected to. Full of politics too. When I first entered the city I witnessed a man being executed like I nearly was, only he wasn't so lucky as to have a dragon drop down and burn the city around him."
The elder vampire was once more deadpanning at the tales Yosa'Min would share, and she simply couldn't believe it. "You're joking right?"
"I wish I were."
A silence fell for but only a moment. "Well are you going to elaborate or do I have to ask?" Laughed Serana only slightly impatiently.
"I'd rather not my Lady," Yosa'Min said, scratching the back of her head and glancing to the side. "It's not particularly a favorite memory of mine. Let's just say there was a dragon, I was a prisoner, a town got destroyed and a lot of people died. This was all about two years ago, I've tried to put it all behind me..."
Serana sighed softly, while she was eager to learn more, taking any chance she could to know more about this fledgling of hers, she knew she must respect Yosa'Min's wishes and quell her curiosity. While it was true that they'd always have the bond, no matter how hard her father tried to wrench it asunder and steal it for himself, it wasn't enough for Serana. She did not wish to simply be Yosa'Min's sire, she wanted to be more than that. Her friend at the very least, someone that there was genuine trust for not just guy feelings and base emotions. The thought of Yosa'Min's eyes only falling on her in a formal, dutiful way like everyone else looked at her father was terrifying. This was not what she wanted out of a fledgling.
"Perhaps another time then?" Serana asked politely, knowing full well that after that morning they were not on as sure footing as before. Her father was intolerable in his ability and desire to steal fledgling, and she couldn't help but wonder what would happen if Yosa'Min did stay loyal to her, or worse yet if she allied herself with Harkon. The thoughts were not too pleasing and made a knot form in her stomach, so she decided not to dwell on them. First was Solitude to find the Moth Priest, then they'd see what to do about her father.
Yosa'Min nodded her head. "Aye, that is a tale for another time. We've finally arrived," she gestured to the shoreline now within reach. The Dragonborn stepped out of the boat first, and offered a hand to Serana. She took it with a faint smile and set foot into the knee deep freezing water, but to a Daughter of Coldharbour it was nothing of the sort. Yosa'Min gave the boat a hard shove to help the tired thrall back towards the castle, and then waved after him. "Shall we make way to Solitude right fast?"
Serana opened her mouth to say something, but was soon cut short as something reached her senses and she snapped her attention to a set of wiry bushes clutching a pile of rocks. "It's her!" Was all she heard before suddenly two women came rushing out of nowhere, catching the chatting duo off-guard, something one rarely did of vampires. "Yosa'Min!"
The redguard's chest tightened, burning eyes widening to take in the forms that approached with a torch bared. Her jaw practically dropped with disbelief as the brightly illuminated nord and imperial ran up to her only to slow cautiously at a hiss from Serana. "It's really you," the nord said.
Yosa'Min blinked, trying to make sure this wasn't some vision or longing in her heart manifested. She looked at Serana, but the sire clearly saw the two mortal women just as well, eyes narrowed into thin glowing slits as her hands grew poised to cast spells. The night grew tense and silent, no one seeming to know what to say next as they took in the sudden impossibility. Yosa'Min's eyes ran over Vex's face, seeing so many details that had never been there before, faint wrinkles at the edges of her face from stress more than time and the way her body exuded heat. She could feel it even standing where she was, but Vex was like a ball of fire before her, calling out for her to warm herself with a touch and a bite. The redguard tensed further, catching the slipping thoughts and the rising feelings, and looked at Mjoll next. The nord looked terrified, but what of Yosa'Min wasn't certain. Perhaps it was she, and her changed form that was so scary or the intimidating elder vampire standing besides her. Either way fear wasn't something she was used to seeing on the Lioness's face. Mjoll's eyes seemed more prominent, shimmering gold, and her voice thicker when she spoke, "Is that really you Yosa'Min?" Compared to Vex, Mjoll was true dragonfire, blazing with life and warmth.
There was suddenly a very strong urge to take both women in her arms and hold them, begging for answers and streaming apologies. Only that urge was followed by the very same desire that grew more prominent each day to pierce their skin and drink their essence. The conflicting desires, coupled with stone-cold-shock, had her staring at them with wide eyes, poised to flee or dash at them, uncertain what to do. No one said anything for a very long time, Mjoll's question hanging in the air like the auroras above.
"Yes," she finally said.
Vex burst into a smile, long and wide, her amber gaze falling on the redguard with such relief Yosa'Min's legs quaked. "I was starting to think you'd never come off that island," she said.
"How long have you been waiting here?" Serana demanded, Vex's gaze snapping to her. They stared at one another, an odd familiarity rising up the thief the longer she gazed at blazing eyes that seemed to slice as much through her as her gaze did through Serana. She could have sworn she knew this vampire quite well, though where Vex just couldn't place it. "Is that your boat?" She pointed to the sailboat that was still beached on the shoreline.
"Since the early morning," she said, "and yes it is." Her eyes ran up the form of the nord, taking her in, trying to figure out who it was that Yosa'Min was accompanied by now. The shape of the vampire was similar to the form she'd seen the night before, and she was certain Yosa'Min would still be as picky as ever about who traveled with her. She noted that the vampire was also fairly pretty, and wondered if Yosa'Min just liked to travel with such entourages more often than not.
"Why are you here?" Serana asked, speaking the questions that boiled on the frozen fledgling's brain yet she couldn't get her tongue to work, turning to sand in her mouth. "Have you been tracking us?" Serana took a step towards the mortals who instantly tensed. They'd known it was risky doing this, but their hopes that Yosa'Min would recognize them and speak to them had been strong enough to dare. But now, the quarry of their whole search stared at them like a terrified rabbit, wide eyed and innocent. "How?" She hissed in warning.
Mjoll took a small step forward, not wanting to seem intimidated by the supernatural being before them yet fully aware how precarious their situation could become if it wasn't there already. "Woah now, no need to get hostile. We've been trying to find our friend, we don't mean any harm to you."
"Friend?" Yosa'Min's voice came now, scoffing and incredulous. The mortals looked at her with bewildered expressions. "You can't use that word with me Mjoll, you lost that right."
"What?" The nord balked, blinking golden eyes and looking at Vex in hopes of an explanation but the thief was just as stunned by the cruelty on the Dragonborn's voice. "Yosa'Min what are you talking about? I know things went... very... very badly between us." She looked down at her hands, abashed at the memories alone. "But I'm here now, I want to fix it or at least mend it."
"No!" The redguard shouted sharply, anger now rising up her body to conquer the conflicting thoughts and desires, rearing an ugly head upon the vampire. "You don't get to just show up and say that! You haven't spoken to me for months and you choose now to show up?"
Vex stepped forward and held a hand out to Yosa'Min, the torch in her other. "Yosa, I didn't want to spring her on you but I had no choice. There was no way I was ever going to find and rescue you with her help," she said in a tender tone, pleading with the vampire. "I thought the Dawnguard had you for sure."
"They did," Yosa'Min hissed, stepping towards Vex slowly closing the distance. "But you can see what happened next."
"What did happen Yosa?" There was hurt in Vex's voice, stunning Yosa'Min momentarily.
But only for the moment, memories rising to the forefront of her mind, conjuring up the night it all went wrong that set her on this path. "I went along with Isran's deal because you left me behind! How could you after everything we'd been through and did! I trusted you!" She slapped Vex's hand away, hissing mad. "You've never really been on my side have you? It's always about who can help you and when they can't you're done with them!"
The imperial's expression faltered, dropping so swiftly that even Mjoll felt bad for her. She lowered her head a bit, taking it all, reminding herself of Siulon's warning that their friend would not be the same woman when they found her. She just didn't expect it to be so true. Biting her lip a bit, she glowered. "I know this isn't really you talking Yosa, this isn't yourself. This vampire must be telling you what she wants you to believe, she's lying to you."
Vex instantly regretted those words as Yosa'Min took hold of her collar and pulled her dangerously close, "Do not speak of Serana like that, she is far greater and more honest than you ever have been Nightingale." Amber eyes narrowed spitefully, the imperial's limits reached. She was never good with patience. She pushed Yosa'Min off, the grip had not been tight but the proximity was surprisingly jarring when she saw the glint of fangs and tried to see blue where only burning orange now rested. The redguard really had changed.
"Look, we came to find you and save you," Vex growled, "which is what I've been trying to do ever since Fort Dawnguard, shit no, it's what I've been doing for six months!" She waved a hand to Mjoll. "I've been trying to put you together since you lied to her and she dumped your sorry ass on that lake," she shouted, Serana watching with guarded caution, processing that these women were certainly of upmost importance to Yosa'Min in her previous life. She stared a bit at nord, wondering if then this was the woman Yosa'Min had nearly told her about in the shack in Morthal.
Mjoll stiffened, not really believing bringing that up would really help their case of getting her to talk to them. "I don't blame her either, I probably would have too with a decent number of unpleasant words in the mix. So you need to understand just how godsdamned hard it was for me to get her here, and to work with her. Life for me hasn't been easy either Yosa, I've been struggling with your problems too for half a year. I know you felt alone," her tone softened slightly, "but you never were. Lydia and Iona helped and they're helping now. They're looking for a cure for you."
"Cure?" Serana and Yosa'Min said together, the word planting two very different pictures in their heads. "You can't be serious, there is no such thing," Serana said swiftly.
"You're wrong," Mjoll said, "and soon we'll know just how to save you Yosa," she smiled tenderly at the blank faced redguard, trying to be gentle and optimistic, trying to have hope when she saw so much of it crumbling like sand. The Lioness wasn't entirely certain what she'd been expecting when they found her, maybe she was foolishly hoping Yosa'Min would be happy to see them and agree to come with them right away. It was steadily growing more obvious that this wasn't what was going to happen. All she could think was that it was the housecarls that should have found their thane, not her two ex-lover s.
They'd made a mistake in coming here.
Hoping that she could somehow turn it all around, Mjoll took her weapon, pulling it off her back and alarming everyone else in the area including Vex, and placed it on the beach. "Wouldn't that be great?" She begged, softly, words a nervous whisper like a confession.
The redguard stared, narrowed eyes trying to figure out the trick, and Serana seemed just as displeased. The only reason she hadn't taken Yosa'Min and run already was due to the reaction last time she'd done that. But this, she could tell, would go very differently. Something about the way the redguard stood and glowered, the anger pouring off of her, it wasn't the happy feelings of reunion with treasured ones. This was fury and hurt and pain, and the redguard needed to deal with it one way or another. Yosa'Min stared at the pleading expression that dawned Mjoll's face, and could easily recall seeing it so many times before in different ways. Sometimes it had just been playfu jests and games, or others genuine requests, and the instances when those golden eyes had begged her to be lying, that the words the redguard had spoken weren't the truth because of how much they hurt, all came surging forth. Somehow Mjoll, Vex, Lydia and Iona had almost become nothing more than memories, lingering in her mind but not quite there where she realized they were. But seeing them, the two of them that had wronged her and she wronged them, made those thoughts boil back upwards.
"No," she tightly said.
"What?" They gasped in disbelief.
"I said no," Yosa'Min growled. "I have a purpose again, and it is here at Serana's side," she gestured to the brunet nord who gave a slight smile as if relieved. Vex's gaze lingered on this stranger, trying to figure her out while Mjoll couldn't look away from the woman that was suddenly making her heart ache all fresh and renewed. Mjoll reached out slightly, at a loss for words. The vampire stepped backwards, out of the glow of the torchlight. "I can't lose that again, not even for you."
Serana stepped out of the light also, and started to follow her fledgling who was walking slowly, the pair of women still able to see them. Serana tenderly touched Yosa'Min's shoulder, the fledgling's breath coming short and looking at her with dismay. "It's like I told you before, it's always best to leave the old life behind. You're doing the right thing," she assured her. The redguard wasn't so certain. Vex stared after her, heart beating loudly in her ears. Yosa'Min could hear it too, and she could almost taste the rush of blood from the mortal. She grimaced, putting a hand to her mouth. Serana stiffened, recognizing the motions. "Just keep walking," she said.
"No!" Shouted Vex, startling Yosa'Min who was trying to tune out the sound of the mortals whom she'd once called friends. More than that family. "We didn't come all this way for you to just walk away!" She started after Yosa'Min, Mjoll hot on her heels. "You've got maybe two and a half weeks before you're gone forever, or did Serana not tell you this!"
They paused, the vampires turning back with cold faces. "What are you talking about mortal?" Said Serana, finding her gaze fixated on amber orbs, the platinum haired imperial scowling at her. It was amusing if not surprising to Serana just how much gall this mortal had, to challenge her so openly when last they'd fought she had beaten all four of the mortal women. "Vampirism doesn't work like that."
"You're changing," said Mjoll this time.
"I think I asked the woman you called Vex," shortly said Serana, glaring at Mjoll for silence, "not you."
The nord bristled angrily in return. "This transformation isn't fast, and you've probably not noticed it, but Yosa it's doing things to your head not just your body."
"What are you talking about, I'm the same as before," Yosa'Min rolled her eyes, crossing her arms.
"Then why the hell are you not carrying a bow," said Vex pointedly.
"Vampires don't need weapons like mortals do," Yosa'Min said, "not really."
"Mortals?" Mjoll repeated. "Is that what you think of us? Mere mortals?"
Yosa'Min's expression faltered slightly. "Well... It's what you are..."
"But that's all? It doesn't matter that I've been one of your most loyal friends for this long now? It doesn't matter that I've defended you against the Guild's criticism and opinions, or that I've literally been a shoulder for you to cry on? It doesn't matter that I trusted you enough to betray the man that I had known since I was just a small child?" Vex's voice grew colder with each passing second as the disbelief turned into disgust. "The vampires are turning you away from everything I know you used to hold dear. You valued your mortal friends and appreciated everything we did for you to help you in your time of need."
"Well maybe it's just that you mortals make things so complicated. It's simpler this way. You're prey and I'm the hunter," sneered Yosa'Min.
Serana stared at the fledgling besides her, as taken aback by the remark as the mortal women were. This was alarming in all sorts of ways, and though Serana was in a slight way relieved to hear such talk from the young vampire if it meant they could stop arguing about hunting and drinking blood, this was not the woman she'd taken a great liking too. Something in the castle, in that fight with Orthjolf must have... changed things.
Vex snarled with disgust, "Look at that! Even your vampire friend is appalled by what you believe now!" Vex's eyes shot to the pale faced nord, lingering for a few moments before returning to her friend's.
"Yosa, I know you well enough to know that isn't the real you. You were a huntress, yes, but never like this," stepped in Mjoll.
Yosa'Min's gaze settled on her, and before she could stop herself she was hurling words of hurt at the woman. "You never knew me, I was lying all the time remember? You don't know if I even meant it when I told you I loved you don't you?" Serana, Mjoll, Vex, all of them stared once more. Mjoll was visibly wounded, stepping back, unable to keep the tears from welling in her eyes but she stopped them from going any farther as those words sliced through her, echoing her nightmares and restless sleep for months.
She didn't know, not anymore.
"Well you were always so damn good at weaving those stories weren't you? The bear and the armor, offering Vex a ride? Everything you left and did when you weren't around me? By Talos I wouldn't even be surprised if you lied just as much to me as you did to Vex," Mjoll seethed, suddenly regretting putting her weapon down. "You're cold and heartless, and I'm glad that I walked away. Aerin was right about you all along. I hope you enjoy the undead life Dragonborn, because pretty soon you won't even be able to remember who you were before all this. That woman, liar she may have been, was still stronger and more true than the shadow of her I see before me now. You're not Yosa'Min."
The redguard's composure faltered, and then she simply snapped.
She jumped forward and grasped Mjoll by the shoulders, and shoved her down into the sand, overpowering the nord with strength that surprised the mortals. She gritted her fangs, Mjoll trying desperately to get free. Her head spun from the impact with the hard sand, no real fear of drowning in the thick powder but before she could realize it Yosa'Min was starting to shudder. Her lips pulled back in a fierce snarl, glinting fangs catching the moonlight. Mjoll tensed, horror filling her body as she found her efforts slowing.
Serana was stunned, uncertain if she should get involved just yet. Perhaps breaking the ties was best, if there was no reason for these women chase them then they could move safer across Skyrim. It was impressive they'd found them yet again, and she looked to the imperial who was running forward to her companion's aid. They were impressive in at least a few ways. One thing was for certain however, she couldn't let Yosa'Min slip into too great a rage, for if she snapped out of it to see their blood on her hands, it would not go well. She stepped forward, cautioning, a shadow of the main drama that was the trio, and waited to see when she should intervene.
"Yosa! Listen to me! This isn't you! You have to stop this!" Vex was shouting, grasping Yosa'Min and trying desperately to pull her off the terrified nord before she did something that there would be no coming back from. "Please!" She found that the redguard was surprisingly grounded, and she shrugged off Vex's attempts at pushing or pulling her off.
"You're not my guildmaster any more Nightingale!" Shouted Yosa'Min, fending off Vex who'd drawn a dagger in desperation. "I don't take orders from you." Suddenly the redguard sneered, and grasped Mjoll in a way for her to lift her up. The nord struggled, but only for a moment before Yosa'Min had taken her across the shore, and against the sailboat with a speed and strength that was... horrifying to the nord.
Mjoll's heart was racing as Yosa'Min pulled close, her fangs besides her neck, waiting for something. She could hear Vex trying to get past the other vampire, and see Serana grappling with the imperial, but it all seemed so far away. Terror, genuine and unrivaled, filled her body. Yosa'Min gave a soft, leering chuckle. "You know I've dreamed about being this close to you again?" She said, pulling back slightly but not without brushing her fangs across Mjoll's neck. "So many nights left... unsatisfied..." burning eyes glinted at her, and the redguard, who was mostly using her body now to pin the trembling nord against the boat, smiled. "I really did miss you," she whispered.
"I..."
"No, I know... You hate me now, and I understand." There was a sad smile upon the Dragonborn's face. She was smaller than Mjoll in stature, but somehow with the way Mjoll was leaning against the boat she'd come to lean over her slightly. "I would hate me too." There was a chilling calmness to her that replaced the pure rage. Mjoll tried to get her body to agree with her, to push off the vampire that was in the body of her former love, but every bit of her was frozen in place. She couldn't even breathe easily, vision swimming and head swooning.
"Yosa I don't hate you," she managed to squeak out, voice quivering.
"Oh... You don't?" Yosa'Min asked softly. "I guess now you will, seeing as I'm a monster."
"Please Yosa, just come with us. We're going to meet with Lydia and Iona and they'll have a cure for you, I'm sure of it." At the very least, Mjoll could still talk though each breath hurt for some reason as fire burned up her body. "Please... We could set things right! We both... made mistakes, we both did things... we shouldn't have. It was no one's fault entirely, it was both... of ours. I want to fulfill my half to make it right, please... I'm so sorry..."
The vampire shook her head. "Kitten," she said, nuzzling against Mjoll's neck. "There's only one way to set this right now..." She breathed slowly, savoring every last twitch of the adventurer, lingering for as long as she knew she could. Vex screamed in pain behind her, Serana catching her in some restraining pin in an effort to avoid actually hurting her but failing. Yosa'Min could hear her land on the ground, Serana presumably on top of her to keep her still, and the violent swears that were thrown the sire's way. "But you and I both know that we could never start over, there's nowhere to move on to." Yosa'Min pulled back, saddened, angry, a broil of emotions rising up her body. "You know that too, don't you?"
"Please..." Mjoll suddenly broken down, the tears she'd stopped earlier were now flowing desperately. Yosa'Min could hardly remember the last time she'd seen Mjoll cry... if ever she'd seen her cry. "Please I miss you okay? I joined Vex hoping to end things but now all I can think about is you. She sneers and claims I care and I deny it but Yosa'Min I still have feelings for you! If I don't get to say this again then I will say this now, I'm not over you and I'm so scared of what's happened to you Yosa..." The confessions came from that deep dark mental and emotional pit she'd been shoving all these feelings down into months, steadily growing to too far a number for them to be properly contained, but instead slipping out into her living world at the most inopportune of moments.
This however, seemed like the perfect moment to come clean.
The redguard's brow furrowed as she processed what had been said, and then scowled fiercely. "You're just scared of the monster, you're scared of what I could do to you right now if I wanted to," accused Yosa'Min. "You're just trying to get away from me by playing with my feelings."
"I"m not Vex," firmly replied the pinned Lioness.
Yosa'Min tilted her head slightly, absentmindedly listening to the scuffling duo. Vex seemed to be holding her own against Serana with surprising skill, though perhaps it was only because she was desperate and not frozen by... whatever had frozen Mjoll, Yosa'Min wasn't certain. "No, I suppose you're not and that's why I fell for you. A light in the dark... You're no liar." She released Mjoll and the nord could breathe again, taking in a singular gasp of air before looking at the redguard uncertainly. "Leave," she ordered.
"Yosa-"
"Leave! Before I change my mind Kitten." Her hands were balled into fists once more, and she lowered her gaze, unable to meet Mjoll's reddened eyes. "I am a vampire now, there is no cure for me... I'm only a danger to a mortal such as you. You must stop chasing me, for your own good."
"We nords are stubborn things," Mjoll managed, finding her voice returning to her. She sniffled once. "Let me help you, please... We've always been stronger when we're together."
Yosa'Min looked up, and smirked slightly. "I suppose you are right..." She tilted her head, and reached forward to touch Mjoll's face. She did not shy from her touch like expected. Yosa'Min hoped this would be the last time she'd see Mjoll, truly. There was so many ways that simply lingering was putting her in danger, and she didn't imagine her Lady would be happy with what she was about to do.
For a split moment she didn't care.
The redguard dared, and pressed her lips to Mjoll's, stealing a kiss from the nord who had only hoped it would happen. It was short, brisk, and fleeting, the moment she'd felt Yosa'Min's fangs it ended, and the vampire was gone in a blur. Mjoll tried to catch her breath as a suddenly alone Vex came running over to her. The nord's legs gave out beneath her and she slid against the hull of the sailboat, sweat breaking out across her body in relief. She didn't even know what to think.
"Did you just- And she- What?" Vex gasped with wide eyes, a nasty gash across her cheek and her armor bearing a few new scars from the tussle with the elder vampire.
"...Yeah..." The dazed nord replied.
The imperial stared at her, and then gazed up the mountain where she'd just seen the vampires fleeing. All that came to mind were a few words, and she uttered them rather loudly. "Godsdamnit."
AN: Thanks for reading! Unfortunately, this very well might be the last chapter for... well for some time. I'm going away for about two weeks next week, and while I should be able to get at least one more chapter out before then I'd rather not make any promises. After those two weeks... Well... I'll be gone for basically five months for training... Terribly sorry that it'll mean an atrocious time before the next update, however, I promise that when I'm back I will wholeheartedly return to writing this story. That long of a break is going to drive you as mad as it'll drive me. Once again, thank you for reading and as always, I hope you enjoyed! I'd love to hear what you think in a review!