Chapter Thirty-Two

In all his years of magic and sorcery, Falion had never once found himself in such a curious and odd situation. He had been through several gates of Oblivion and back, ventured deep within the different planes of existence and studied as much as he could. Within those realms, Falion had been fortunate to see things in which he still did not understand; monsters and beauties, demons and angels, all of which he thought nothing could rival to in their unimaginable nature. How in his wildest of dreams could the man have thought of such wonders and terrors? Now however, he found himself once more staring at something so unexpected, it was taking him a bit of time to even begin to process it.

"Falion!" Shouted Mjoll desperately, reaching forward and snapping the man out of his trance with a firm shake of his shoulder. "Can you save her or not?" Her voice pitched with panic, exhaustion wearing heavily upon her shoulders. The nord woman looked as if she'd been dragged through a muddied street for hours, her hair sticking to her skin that was slicked with dirt and sweat. However, despite her horrible appearance, it was nothing compared to the other two nords in her company.

Laying on a table, her armor stripped and body left in little more than torn clothes, was Lydia. Her eyes were shut fiercely, jaw clenched and brow knitted with pain. She looked as if she had a fever, skin cold to the touch yet dripping with sweat, shivers running through her body every so often. Iona was resting besides her, the exhaustion upon her face quite different from Mjoll's, doubly so and Falion could recognize signs of magical drain. Her shoulders were slumped forward while green eyes stayed firmly upon the brunet's face, breathing ragged as she tried to catch it. One of Iona's hands was clasped with Lydia's, holding onto her tightly until her knuckles had turned white. Standing in the corner, obviously drained, was Vex. The imperial had her back to them, hands placed upon the alchemy table she was leaning over with her head down.

"I-" He stammered, blinking as he took it all in for another moment or two, before slowly the man approached the shivering woman. "It's a vampire wound?" He asked, looking at the haphazardly wrapped bandages upon Lydia's neck. Mjoll nodded her head weakly, running a hand through her hair. "But she hasn't been turned?"

"No, we prevented that."

Frowning softly, the man shook his head. "I'm afraid I cannot cure her then. I can only reverse the change, I cannot stop death."

"What!" Mjoll shouted, Vex slamming her fist down upon the alchemy table while Iona seemed to grow quiet. "I thought you were supposed to be some all-powerful wizard!" She accused, stepping towards him.

"I never claimed such a title, I simply stated that I was experienced not that I was powerful. The change, as it is known, is a very complex process that requires the death of the afflicted. It alters their very being on various subtle levels as well as the obvious surface ones. I cannot heal her in this state, and if she has not contracted the disease in order to turn her then I cannot do anything about it. Vampires have two types of poisons in their system. The one that turns or enthralls a victim, and the one that causes excruciating death. Essentially this second poison is a less developed version of the first."

Golden eyes fell heavily upon the man, Mjoll still with thought as she tried and failed to process what he had said. "So then what you're saying," Vex spoke up from across the room, turning around with the faintest moisture in her eyes. "Is that you're useless."

"I'm afraid so... Right now, it's more as if she had a truly deadly wound than anything else. Like a specific type of snake venom, I do not know its cure."

"Then what was the point in rushing here!" Shouted Vex furiously, a hand going towards her hip and she drew her dagger. Mjoll and Falion's eyes widened with alarm as she lashed out. Remaining uninvolved in the happenings around her, Iona was only focused on Lydia, bringing up a hand and whispering words of healing with the last amount of magic and strength she could draw upon the try and keep her alive just a few minutes more.

Falion swallowed dryly, he was unfamiliar with these two women unlike the brave housecarls who had assisted him and the town. Looking from Vex's who was pointing the ebony blade at him now, to Lydia who gave a sputtering cough that sounded as if she were choking on her own blood, he held his hands up to his shoulders. "Listen, I cannot cure her, and I cannot reverse a wound, but I know someone who might," he said slowly, trying not to upset the woman.

"Who?" Vex hissed.

"Siulon."

Mjoll blinked, looking at Vex who softened a bit while her eyes remained narrowed amber slits. "You mean the mage in the College? That's halfway across Skyrim!"

"I didn't say it would be easy!" He piped with a soft huff. "In the meantime, I might be able to concoct something to keep her from degenerating further, but it won't save her from death nor will it improve her condition."

"Do it," ordered the ex-adventurer, Vex nodding her head in agreement while Iona gave a harsh sigh as her magic at last came to halt. She tried once more, desperately holding her fingers towards Lydia, muttering the words in her head and under her breath, but nothing came. She could hardly keep her eyes open at this point, Iona gritting her teeth as she tried to keep the mental cobwebs from falling in place. If she had failed Lydia and her companion was to die, the woman was determined to be awake when it happened.

Falion moved swiftly, Vex stepping away from his alchemy table while he set about to making the concoction, grabbing this and that off the shelves and crushing them in a small mortar. The imperial crossed to where Mjoll was rigidly standing, leaving Falion to his own devices as he worked quickly on the potion. Vex examined Mjoll's face as she approached, judging the panic and exhaustion, deciding just how real it was as she stopped about an arm away from the Lioness. It felt pretty real.

"What do we do?" Vex asked, gesturing to Lydia and Iona who had lost the struggle to stay awake. "We're all so exhausted I doubt we could make a straight run for Winterhold, and there's still Yosa to consider. What're you thinking Mjoll?"

Golden eyes flicked up to her, wide for a moment and Vex thought she saw true fear within her, taking the rogue off-guard. "As much as it pains me to say it... We don't have a choice here Vex. Yosa... She attacked Lydia and Iona, she nearly killed her... Even if what Iona said on the way here is true, that she wasn't herself when she attacked and tried to turn her in order to save her... Well it's just seems a bit more clear to me that we didn't really know what we were getting into. That we were hoping too much and not being real with ourselves."

A hand went to Vex's hip, and she cocked a brow. Despite how tired she felt, as if she'd been running from the Dawnguard hounds all over again for days, she still had enough energy to throw some insults at the nord if need be. However she was willing to hear her out as Vex could tell that what Mjoll said next was going to be important, if not utterly critical, to what they'd decide. She didn't want to give up on Yosa'Min, but this whole encounter was most jarring. The entire time they'd been racing to Morthal, Vex managing to rob a home of any healing and magical potions they'd had before she'd caught up with the rushing nords, her mind had been filled with what had happened.

Though she hadn't seen her this time, some part of Vex could easily imagine the redguard attacking the nords no matter how insane the notion was. It painted itself in her mind, blood and violence searing with a sense of betrayal. She shuddered to think what Lydia and Iona might have felt, seeing their thane turn on them like she had. Though she'd seen Yosa'Min in her new form, the terrifying fangs and the rage she could unleash, it was hard to imagine this turned on the two people who had done literally no wrong to the redguard. Iona had said it was just her hunger, that she'd lost control of herself and the moment she'd realized what she'd done she'd snapped back but some part of Vex found that almost hard to believe. Yosa'Min hadn't reverted to herself when she'd seen them, she'd only been furious instead, and lashed out so violently it pained the imperial to not be so surprised this had happened. She didn't want to believe it, but some part of her did, whispering those doubts into her mind.

The company Yosa'Min kept was also a troubling thought. Serana was, all in all, an unknown, something Vex greatly disliked. The nordic vampire could have been a variety of things, and meant many different ones to the redguard and her transformation. The thief had a sneaking suspicion Serana was Yosa'Min's sire, considering the loyalty Yosa'Min had shown to her almost like Vex had once shown to Mercer, back when she'd been unaware of his true nature. Additionally, the possessiveness Serana displayed over Yosa'Min in their brief encounters, like she was more than just a fellow vampire of her clan, was not something the imperial had missed.

She'd question Iona about the gritty details later but for now Vex was quite certain. She almost felt a flare of jealousy rise through her at the thought of the brunet vampire. Easily Vex pictured her alabaster face with a smug expression dawned across it, lips curled upwards with the slightest hint of fangs as burning sunset eyes stared into the mortal's soul. She felt a trickle of energy roll through her at the mental image, coursing up her body as she pictured the vampire more, imagining what would happen next they met. Vex couldn't quite place what the swell of emotions she felt were, if they were even appropriate for her to be having towards the woman who very well was her enemy, if at the very least opponent. However, despite the utterly depressing setting in which she had found herself in, Falion still making the potion across the way and Mjoll's brow furrowed with thought as she debated what to say, it was almost a pleasant distraction.

In no way did the imperial wish to imagine her friend had become a monster, had turned from everything she once was and stood for and would lash out so much. It chilled her to her bones to think of. Next they saw her, Vex wasn't certain what would happen. Vampires were such unknowns for her, making everything they encountered from hence forth new and terrifying. How could she convince her friend of curing herself, when simply being around her if she was hungry risked death or eternal affliction? She shuddered at the thought of becoming what the redguard had. There was however, something different about Serana than the other vampires they'd encountered, Iona and Lydia as well, and Yosa'Min even herself. Perhaps it was what came with age as a creature of the night, or something of her lineage, but she held herself with a certain regality, a sophisticated air about her different from what she imagined of savage vampires lurking in the night to stalk their prey. There was something... unique about her, drawing Vex's attention and interest the more she thought of the seductive vampire.

"We have to take Lydia to Winterhold," Mjoll at last spoke, seemingly done debating and drawing Vex out of her thoughts. "There's no debate over this. We might be able to leg it to Solitude and catch a carriage, it would be swifter than walking there on foot."

"Not to mention the snow would slow us down."

"Right," replied Mjoll with a nod of her head. "As much as it pains me to say it, for now... We have to focus on Lydia and getting her the healing she needs. Iona's too exhausted to do this by herself, and I don't think she should be alone right now either..." Her gaze settled on the redhead, her fingers still clasped with Lydia's.

"Aye," agreed Vex, looking at the shivering brunet and the passed out redhead. Falion at last was finished with his concoction, and swiftly walked over to the wounded warrior. He held up her head and tipped the lip of the potion into her mouth, a creamy colored liquid pouring slowly out. After managing to get her to swallow, the three watched closely, tension filling the air like built up lightning. There was a sudden rush of light, a ball of energy exploding out from Lydia's chest and temporarily blinded the gathered mortals. Iona had not stirred despite the loud popping sound it made, still passed out besides the fellow housecarl.

"It worked," announced Falion after some time of silence. "She will neither heal nor die, and the potion will last three days. That should be enough time to bring her to the College."

Nodding her head gratefully, Mjoll offered a hand to which Falion hesitantly shook. "Thank you, we cannot fully express how much we appreciate it."

"The housecarls assisted me in something of grave importance, and did beyond what I had originally anticipated. For that, she and Iona have my thanks," he said, his eyes lingering on the injured woman with obvious worry and respect. Judging from the tone in which he had spoken earlier, Mjoll could only guess how rarely he gave that to another soul.

"Iona will be relieved to hear we have a bit more time to get her to the College," Vex said, arms crossed as she began to think of what to do. "So we go to Solitude, and take a carriage to Winterhold? I'd suggest the ship but I don't know if any of us have the strength to sail that far, considering the winds haven't been favorable."

Mjoll gave a nod of her head. "A carriage would be best, we wouldn't have to sail around Winterhold to Windhelm either, just go directly there."

The pair of them seemed decided, and without a doubt Iona would agree to their plan. However, the longer they stood there, the more they both knew they would have much to talk about, and what they did next hinged on if their friend would make it. Vex gritted her teeth slightly as she imagined what would happen should she perish, none of it good. "Mjoll..." She whispered softly, "would you come with me outside?"

The blonde nord blinked, and gave a nod of her head. The pair of them stepping through the wooden door and into the early dusk of the night. "What is it?" Asked Mjoll, crossed her arms as she rested against the wooden railing that ran the edge of the patio. She couldn't even try to be rude with Vex, her body too drained from their desperate flight to Morthal to start that up again, and one look at Vex's face told her the imperial felt the same. Whatever she wanted to discuss, it was important, rather than a snide remark she simply did not wish the housecarls to overhear.

"What are we going to do about Yosa'Min?"

Golden eyes blinked, unbelieving at first, and then she found she couldn't even keep Vex's gaze. "I don't know."

"We have to decide."

"Can't it wait until we know if Lydia will survive? I gather that's an important factor in what we do next."

"Of course," Vex waved it off, "but on a whole, what do you think we should do with Yosa'Min?"

Mjoll was stiff, her jaw tight as she struggled to think of exactly what it was. After a long time, her gaze at last met Vex's. "We save her."

Vex arched a brow. "I'm surprised, I would have figured you'd give up just like before."

Tisking her tongue, the woman didn't further remark on the barb. "When you got me to join up, I'll admit I was here for entirely selfish reasons. But Vex... I've been thinking quite a bit about everything that's happened and what we've learned, what we've seen. Yosa'Min needs us, desperately needs us, and I'm tired of feeling like I have."

"Which is how, exactly?"

"A failure." Vex said nothing, but the silence was enough to tell Mjoll to elaborate. "I've been questioning myself for months. Some nights I've wondered if there was something I did that drove Yosa'Min to do what she did. I've wondered if there was something I could have done to prevent us falling apart, to keep you from growing close to her again or if perhaps I should have just allowed it to happen. Every day since I've wondered why she would still be hung up on me, I'd thought she'd moved on even until she showed back up."

"Truly?"

"Yes, truly. I'd made it all up in my head that you'd swooped in and claimed her heart once more. I let doubt and fear fill me up and I allowed it to stop me from trying much sooner. Afterwards, well I was left wondering just what I really meant to her if months later she still thought I was going to accept what I ended it for." Mjoll let a shrug roll off her shoulders, the sudden allowance of vulnerability to fall upon her taking Vex by surprise. They surely were tired if Mjoll was opening up to her. "Right now though that doesn't matter, what I felt before. I've let it hold me back long enough and I need to push past it."

"So you think what, you can just flip your flowy hair and she'll just swoon for you like she did before?"

Snorting, the nord rolled her eyes. "You and I both know that's not going to work. Yosa'Min... She's changed so much it is terrifying, and I cannot deny I'm wondering if it wouldn't be a mercy to end her." Vex tensed, picturing Mjoll driving a blade into a blood-frenzied Yosa'Min. "But at the same time that feels like just another failure. We set out to save her, even if it must be from herself, and we cannot give up on her... for I fear she already has."

Vex took a slight step towards her, a brow cocked still. "So what you're saying, is that we still try to get the cure to her?"

Nodding her head quite vigorously, Mjoll found herself stepping towards the imperial. "If nothing else this attack just goes to show how far Yosa has fallen, we have to save her before she falls any further into this disease."

"Divines," uttered Vex, shaking her head with a hand to her brow before sweeping back her frazzled hair. "You have no idea how afraid I was you wanted to kill her."

Snickering, Mjoll quite adamantly replied, "No I certainly don't. I'm ever the optimist Vex, remember? I'll foolishly hope for that smallest of chance unless my heart's so broken I can't think straight. But now? No I'm certainly better than before, because I can't afford to not be. Yosa can't afford me to not be."

Vex stared at her for a few long moments, impress filling her exhausted body and mixing with the relief. "No wonder she fell in love with you," she uttered, something clicking just so, and Mjoll gave a look. "You're so brilliantly stubborn it's amazing. There is literally nothing that can stop you Mjoll, not even a vampire."

"Well..." Mjoll shrugged softly, "So are you." Vex blinked, and despite herself she couldn't stop the smile that dawned her face. Exhaustion, mental and emotional stress, it had all finally worn down on them enough that the imperial didn't really care what Mjoll usually meant to her. Right now, this was nothing short of brilliant, and Vex could no longer put up the fight. "Now come on, let's go check on the housecarls," Mjoll said, jerking her head in the direction of the door and Vex following along with a silent nod. They had a lot before them they had to do, but at the very least it could be done without fear of the other's intentions. That, was the best peace of mind either of them could ask for right about then.

Just as the last time Yosa'Min had entered the grand hall of Castle Volkihar, she felt a great sense of unease. The air reeked of blood as it usually did, thralls still laying upon the tables and being drained of their very life source as before while deathhounds stalked the premise ever on guard. There was a large gathering of vampires in the main chamber, half of them looking displeased as Yosa'Min and Serana walked down one of the curving stairs and into the main hall. Yosa'Min could only imagine it was due to the moth priest they had following them, the others having wanted to bring in the sought after mortal for the glory themselves. Harkon was sitting at his usual place, and rose upon their arrival, smiling expectantly at the duo.

"Well done!" He purred, holding a goblet out to them before taking a long drink. "I knew it would be you two that found our little priest, my darling daughter never disappoints." Tilting his head the powerful vampire lord squinted at the moth priest who stood like a lost pup besides Serana, looking about with wide eyes at where he had been taken. "I see you've enthralled him, most wise my daughter." Serana gave a slight nod at his words. "Now then, I trust it wasn't too hard to bring him to me," Harkon continued, "was there any... trouble?"

Yosa'Min did her best to remain calm, allowing Serana to speak on their behalf. "Dawnguard," said Serana, "Lots and lots of them. I also believe a rival clan had captured the priest first, as when we arrived the Dawnguard were disposing of bodies I don't recognize nor did they carry our scent."

"I see... And you took care of those annoying hunters I assume?"

"Of course," Serana nodded her head once more, crossing her arms, "what do you take us for, fools?"

Yosa'Min was a bit surprised Serana would dare use such a tone with her father, but the vampire lord almost found it amusing, shaking his head with a good-natured laugh. "Ah it would seem your time locked away has done nothing to dull your tongue... Alright, I trust that is all that happened."

"It is."

"Very well," Harkon said smoothly before his burning gaze settled on Yosa'Min. "Your fledgling looks a little worse for wear," he remarked, looking at the torn side in her armor. "Perhaps she did not fare so well in the battle..."

"I'm fine," Yosa'Min spoke up, "they just had some rather sharp weapons."

"We shall see to it you have a fresh suit of armor then, and in time we will be rid of those pests," he said before gesturing towards Vingalmo who quickly approached with the elder scroll Serana had first been carrying when Yosa'Min had met her. "Give him the scroll, have him read to us this prophecy so we may at last conquer our greatest enemy," he ordered, the altmer vampire quickly handing the large and powerful object to the grey robed mortal.

Dexion Evicus, the moth priest, eagerly took the gold encased scroll, his fingers trembling slightly, and opened it up before him. Yosa'Min averted her gaze as he did so, a soft light filling the air around the priest that was somewhat painful to look upon, while Serana squinted through it, making out runes and intricate lines upon the parchment. The whole of the castle was quiet and waited with baited breath, anticipation so thick through the air it was more palpable than the blood.

"I see..." He began slowly, "I see a great bow, Auriel's Bow! A voice whispers, Among the night's children, a dread lord will rise, in an age of strife, when dragons return to the realm of men, darkness will mingle with light and the night and the day will be as one..." Yosa'Min found herself stiffening as he spoke, a shiver running down her spine colder than death. "There is more, but not here. Elsewhere this prophecy can be found, written in the scrolls of ancient blood and the ancient power of dragons... I see no more." He closed it, a swirl of light fading from his eyes and the man placed a hand to his brow as he swayed uneasily.

Harkon tisked his tongue, hissing softly as he waved a hand. "Take the priest to the cattle, keep him there for now," he ordered, a pair of vampires jumping forward at his word to escort the priest away, Yosa'Min taking the elder scroll before he was out of sight. "That was not as useful as I would have hoped," said Harkon as Yosa'Min offered him the powerful artifact. He almost looked downcast, true disappointment splashed across his face but it lasted for only a moment before the same confident and charming persona enveloped him. If Yosa'Min hadn't been so close, she might not have noticed it. "I am pleased with your hand in this however Serana, even your fledgling's."

"Thank you Father," said Serana, Yosa'Min offering her gratitude for his praise instantly. "But what shall we do? Last I remember mother had the Elder Scroll of Blood..."

"Yes, she took that away as well when she hid you from me," Harkon sneered softly, the whole of the court listening closely to his words. "We shall renew our search of her, that is all we can do. Eventually Valerica will be found, one cannot hide for eternity. As for the Elder Scroll of Dragons, we shall see where it was last hidden and acquire it."

"Actually," coughed Yosa'Min, her confidence wavering for a split second as his gaze settled on her. She blinked, the fear she felt around the man surging up through her swiftly but somehow she managed to push it aside and gave a soft smile. "I have that scroll."

"What?" Balked Harkon. "How?"

"I told you I hunt dragons did I not?" Yosa'Min felt her confidence rise the longer she spoke, the skepticism upon his face resounding in the chamber, Serana herself a bit surprised. "As well as that I'm the Dragonborn. When I hunted down Alduin, it required I delve into the dwemer ruins of Blackreach and the Tower of Mzark in order to retrieve that very elder scroll. I still have it in my house in Whiterun."

"Orthjolf, arrange for it to be brought here at once," he ordered, the redheaded nord seemingly eager for the task. Yosa'Min had no doubt he would make certain to ransack her home in the process. The smile that crawled across Harkon's face was one that Yosa'Min found unnerving, and yet she was quite pleased to see it. "I like this one," he said with gusto, "so full of surprises. You picked well Serana, here I was expecting this redguard to be a weakling but it would seem she is of great use to me even if she does not yet know how to transform." Harkon placed a hand on Yosa'Min's shoulder, possessively looking at her in a way that made the Dragonborn's skin crawl.

Serana gave a slight dip of her head as she reached forward and took hold of her father's arm, picking it up and removing it from Yosa'Min. "Yes, my fledgling is most skilled," she said, stepping between the two and Yosa'Min was grateful for her aid. "So perhaps you could allow us a moment to catch our breath. We've been running around doing as you wish for some time now and would really just like to rest before setting off once more."

Harkon watched her, their eyes meeting like two blazing suns, and a small frown managed to make its way across his face. He tilted his head up, glowering down at his daughter while the court awaited to see what he would do. Yosa'Min tried her best not to fidget behind Serana's protective stance. "My dear, sweet child..." He almost purred, leaning forward until his fangs brushed her ear, eyes staring directly at the redguard who swallowed dryly at his gaze. "You might have sired her, but you and I both know soon enough... She shall be mine."

Serana stiffly chuckled. "Father... Not everyone approves of how you play this game." Their voices were low, only Yosa'Min being able to make out what they said. "It gains you many enemies in this court such as Vingalmo and Orthjolf, your own trusted advisors."

"Oh my dear, they are far from trusted... But you know what they say, keep your friends close and your enemies closer..."

"Perhaps... So what am I now Father?" She was looking at him out of the corner of her eye, as hostile and tense as he way. They reminded Yosa'Min of snakes almost, poised to strike.

"Why you're my daughter," he said a bit louder, as if it were obvious, "you're family my dear. What if I simply wish to make Yosa'Min a bit more family as well, unlike the others. She's certainly worthy."

"What you suggest is dangerous... and wrong."

"We shall see," he purred, eyes still settled on the redguard who was frozen in place. "In time I'm certain she shall make her choice, and it will be most interesting to see what it is." A shudder ran down the fledgling's body at his words.

Serana snarled softly at him, "Do you forget Father? I am of the same clan as you but I am not your vampiric descendant, only your mortal one. You try what I think you're suggesting, and the outcome will be disastrous and unholy."

Harkon pulled back some, his nose a small bit away from hers, and a curling smile was upon his face. "Exciting, do you not think? Though I suppose I wouldn't have to go through such a risky process if she were to simply pledge herself to me instead."

Something shot up through Yosa'Min, her many conversations with Serana about Harkon echoing in her mind and the redguard at last moved besides Serana, not placing herself between them but instead at her sire's side. "Lord Harkon," she said smoothly, her chest swelling with something as she faced him. Harkon arched a brow at her, almost as if amused. "Please, while I am loyal to you, Serana is still my sire, as I would prefer it to be and she also."

"Of course that's how you want it now my dear," he chuckled almost, "because that's all you know. Perhaps it would be best to send you out on your own, to have a chance to grow outside her shadow."

"In time she will Father," interjected Serana, "but not now."

"We shall see," he replied, still so certain of himself despite their resistance. "All things change in time my daughter."

"That's something I know very well Father," said Serana curtly, glaring at him. "Now may we go or are you going to harass Yosa and I further?"

Sniffing as he stepped back, Harkon waved a hand. "You're dismissed, but Serana... We're going to discuss this further in my chambers." The younger Volkihar briskly nodded her head, and grasping Yosa'Min by the hand led the redguard out of the grand hall and quickly made her way up the stairs until they were in the sleeping quarters.

Her chest was rising fast as they found themselves a small bit of privacy, Serana running a hand through her hair as she reeled in what had just happened. Yosa'Min could hardly even breathe, not that she needed to. "Yosa'Min..." She said slowly, shaking her head slightly as her mind settled out, peering at the redguard heavily. "Thank you." The redguard looked at her inquisitively, trembling herself. "Thank you for standing up with me."

"I told you before Serana and I will say it again, you are my Lady and I will serve only you."

Serana looked at her, believing those words entirely, and reached out towards the redguard. Yosa'Min was rather surprised to find herself hugging Serana, the vampire wrapping her arms around her tightly, as if afraid to let go. The redguard couldn't remember the last time she'd been hugged, Vex blurring in her mind for a moment but nothing was concrete anymore going that far back. She returned the gesture in full, Serana closing her eyes and they remained there for quite some time. When Serana pulled back, the sire looked both terrified and relieved at the same time. "Listen Yosa," she said slowly, finding her hands clasped with Yosa'Min's and looking down at the shorter woman's blazing eyes. "No matter what happens, whatever my father may try or has planned... I just want you to know that I'm thankful you'll have my back. I'll admit I've doubted you... and I want to apologize for that."

Yosa'Min swallowed dryly, and shook her head, giving their clasped hands a squeeze. "I understand, you're new to this too and your father obviously likes to have things his way... And I confessed to being a liar... Just whatever happens happens, and I want you to know that I will stay by your side through it all." The sire blinked, smiling largely, and pulled the redguard into a hug once more, the loneliness in her chest she'd been carrying evaporating near instantaneously.

After so many centuries, it would seem she had finally found a friend.