What If She had Left

Chapter 5

The smell of cooking food filled the hall of Jorvaskr. The glow of the fire in the middle of the main hall illuminated the many faces gathered at the table; nearly all of them focused on the woman Aela had called Serana.

Aela had insisted Serana stayed to eat with them, despite the unease her presence clearly caused among the newer recruits. Even their Harbinger, Skjorn, had an air of uncertainty about him, something that very rarely happened. His eyes were constantly on the newcomer, as if trying to recall her face from somewhere in his past.

The new recruits muttered amongst themselves, unaware that their unwanted guest could hear everything they said. Words of suspicion and disgust filled her ears as she spoke with Aela.

Aela was the only one in the hall that had openly accepted Serana, embracing her as an old friend. She spoke openly of the Companion's affairs, as if Serana were already one of the Circle.

Eventually, the recruits slowly got up and walked past Serana on their way down to the barracks.

Finally, the recruit that had attacked Serana upon her arrival walked by her, fear and anger clouding his eyes. Aela sensed his intentions to attempt to start another fight and gave him a warning glare. Despite the warning, the reckless recruit spoke.

"Meat rare enough for you?" he asked maliciously.

"I usually prefer it struggling," Serana replied coolly as she flashed a fanged smile, ignoring the insulting tone in voice. Her quick wit caused Aela to relax some and she sat back laughing quietly to herself.

The recruit quickly continued his way down to the barracks, unsure of whether Serana was joking or not. He was met on the stairs by Marian, the new caretaker of Jorvaskr.

"Don't worry," she consoled him, "Vampires usually don't bite little girls."

Upon hearing this, both Aela and Serana burst into laughter. Feeling that everyone had suddenly turned against him, the recruit pushed past Marian and slammed to barracks door. Marian patted Serana on the shoulder as she walked by,

"It's good to see you again, dear."

"It's good to be here again," Serana replied, "Good, but definitely different."

"Not different in a bad way, I hope?" Skjorn asked, finally speaking.

"No, not at all. All the new faces just take some getting used to," Serana explained, "Though by now, I have plenty of experience with it."

"How old are you, exactly?" Skjorn inquired, curious of his guest.

"Oh, I forgot about five hundred years ago. Somewhere around four thousand, I think," Serana answered, resting back in her chair.

Skjorn seemed very surprised by her answer, interest gleaming in his eyes. Aela watched silently as she tried to predict where her son was going with his questions.

"That's quite a long time," Skjorn mulled quietly, "A person could become quite the proficient fighter, given that long."

"I've seen my fair share of it, yes," Serana said warily, beginning to see what the Harbinger was getting at.

"I would love to test myself against someone with your experience, Serana," Skjorn offered with excitement and firelight flickering in his eyes.

"I'm not against the idea," Serana said slowly, "Though I would be foolish to risk my staying here by offending any of the Companions."

"Do not worry about that," Aela assured her, "nobody will judge you, nor will they interfere. They may be young, but the recruits still know to respect a warrior's honor."

"Excellent!" Skjorn said smiling, and quickly drained the rest of his tankard, "Let's get started then!"

Serana pushed her chair back from the table and glanced at Aela, who gave her a reassuring look.

Hearing the back doors open, the curious recruits came up from the barracks and followed the combatants outside. The night air was cold and clear. The wind licked at the faces of the spectators and fighters alike.

"We will fight like warriors to truly test ourselves," Skjorn said, taking off his belt with his scabbard on it. Serana followed suit, taking off her belt that held her dagger sheath and also removing her long cloak.

"Whenever you're ready," Serana goaded, as she walked back to the sparring area.

Faster than any human could ever move, Skjorn had already closed the gap between Serana and himself and had begun swinging at his opponent. To his dismay though, she was easily dodging his every blow! A strange mix of fascination and irritation welled up inside Skjorn as he pushed his body to move faster. Suddenly, as she was dodging his swings, Serana began to strike at Skjorn using only her open hand. She landed three strikes on him before he could register what had happened, one on each of his arms and the last a firm thrust with her palm into his chest, forcing him backwards. Her hidden strength amazed Skjorn as much as it angered him. A strange look formed in the Harbinger's eyes as his skin began to crawl.

Serana looked over at Aela to see that her friend had gone rigid, a mix of worry and astonishment shaping her features. They locked eyes and Serana instantly knew what was happening to Skjorn. He was changing.

Aela stepped forward to call off the fight, but stopped short upon recalling her promise to Serana and seeing how calmly the vampire had turned back to face her opponent.

Skjorn was deep in the throes of the change. He had grown to a height of eight feet and his limbs were stretching to bestial proportions. His face began to lengthen, and fangs as long as Serana's fingers formed in his mouth. Finally, a black haze encircled Skjorn as thick, black fur began to sprout all over his body. The change was complete.

Aela covered her face with her hand, amazed that her son would use the change so recklessly. The young recruits had now seen the both of them in beast form and also the process of the change and would undoubtedly be curious about it. Then again, they had every right to be worried about sharing a barracks with two fully-grown werewolves.

Serana was amazed at the creature that stood before her. When she had seen Aela in this form earlier, she hadn't had any armor on. The beast that stood in front of her was still clad in his wolf-crested armor. Amazingly, the armor seemed to stretch to accommodate its new wearer's body, though Skjorn's claws had cut through the tips of the gauntlets and through the toes of his boots.

Aela folded her arms as she leaned back against one of the wooden posts that held up the outside roof.

"I am going to kill that fool if he…" she started, but was cut off by Skjorn who had thrown back his head and released a bloodcurdling roar, a much deeper sound than Aela's had been.

"Damn it, boy!" Aela shouted, once again astounded at how careless her son was being, "Serana, this needs to end. Now!"

Serana nodded, hearing the urgency in her friend's voice. The vampire prepared herself and turned back to the monster before her, saliva now dripping from its exposed fangs.

Serana cracked her knuckles and rushed at Skjorn. Using his new speed, Skjorn narrowly avoided the swing and ran towards the wall that led up to the Skyforge. His long arms and claws allowed him to quickly scale the wall and he was soon atop the rock, looking down on Serana and the spectators.

To his right, Skjorn could see over the wall that surrounded Jorvaskr and could see the town of Whiterun waking up and rushing up to the gates leading to Jorvaskr that the Dragonborn had built during his time as Harbinger. A loud cry then split the night air.

"Hey!" Serana shouted, waving her arms wildly, attempting to draw Skjorn's attention. Her idea worked. The beast crouched low, then sprang out directly at his prey, elongated claws reaching out to grab and kill.

Serana quickly reacted to the mountain of claws and teeth flying at her. First, she took a defensive stance, bracing herself for the incoming blow. As soon as Skjorn came within reach, Serana brought up both of her hands in a lightning quick motion that knocked up both of Skjorn's outstretched arms out of harm's way. Surprise filled the creature's face as he struggled to comprehend what had happened.

Then, just as quick as the first strike, Serana brought her arm back, brought her fist up from below, and landed her blow squarely on Skjorn's lower jaw. The sound of breaking bone filled the air as her fist made contact and the force of it sent the beast back into the wall of the Underforge, knocking him unconscious.

Seeing that the fight was over, Aela began barking commands.

"Serana, help me lift him! The rest of you, back inside until I come to get you. Go!" she ordered.

The young recruits, now scared of both the werewolves and the vampire now in their home, quickly followed Aela's orders and ran inside.

As the doors closed behind them, Aela hurried over to the wall of stone and pressed open a hidden door in the rock face. She then walked back and, with Serana's help, lifted Skjorn's unconscious body and carried him into the torch-lit room. They passed by a large stone bowl, carried him into a side chamber and set the massive body on the ground. Skjorn twitched restlessly in his forced slumber.

"You're the first vampire to ever enter here," Aela said, resting against the stony walls of the Underforge.

"I'm honored," Serana panted, her heart racing from the recent excitement.

Aela bent down and began to examine Skjorn's sleeping form.

"It still amazes me how strong you really are," Aela marveled as she touched Skjorn's jaw, feeling where the bone had broken.

"Being immortal has given me plenty of time to practice," Serana smiled wearily.

Skjorn's twitching grew more intense as he began to whine and moan.

"We should leave before he wakes up," Aela suggested.

"Will he be ok alone?" Serana asked, motioning to his jaw.

"Don't worry about that, it will have healed by morning," Aela said as she opened the door leading back outside.

"Do werewolves really heal that quickly?" Serana asked, stepping outside and retrieving her dagger, belt, and dagger.

Aela nodded and closed the door behind them, "It's one of the keys to our success. Our increased lifespan, the ability to heal quickly, and our immunity to diseases all come from the beast blood. His pride, however, will take more time to heal."

"He was drunk though, and I'm not exactly your average fighter," Serana offered.

Aela laughed as they entered Jorvaskr and each took a seat at the empty table. The huntress' expression then became sad and pensive. She lifted her eyes to Serana's and spoke softly.

"How do you do it, Serana? Dealing with being immortal, I mean. Even after only living just over a hundred years, I've had to watch so many close friends die. Some I even held as their spirits left their bodies. How have you managed that so many times over?" Aela asked.

"I don't know," Serana responded, speaking slowly and choosing her words carefully. "Some days I feel like I barely exist, like I'm just wandering aimlessly. But the time I spend with friends helps me to cope more than anything."

Aela nodded silently and stood up from her chair, "Well, I think it's time we got some rest. There's a room open if you'd like it."

"That would be great, thank you," Serana accepted graciously.

The pair descended the stairs down to the barracks and walked down the long hallway. As they passed the recruits' room, they could hear hushed voices, no doubt discussing the bizarre events of the night. Aela made a quick stop at her own room and took a key from the top dresser drawer. As they continued farther down the hall, they passed the rest of the rooms. Before Serana could to ask why, Aela spoke,

"Since Skjorn is sleeping outside tonight, you can use his room. It's the room that every Harbinger uses as their quarters. We also still have a chest that belonged to the Dragonborn if you would like to look through it. He left me with instructions to only let you open it," she finished, holding out a key to Serana.

Serana took the key from Aela, "Thank you, my friend. I think I'll wait to open it until the morning though. There's been enough excitement tonight."

"I understand. Good night then, Serana," Aela said, turning to go to her own room.

"Good night," Serana called after her, shutting the doors to the room. She turned and looked around the sparsely decorated room. A wooden chest was up against the wall, with a lock that appeared to be of the same metal as the key Serana held in her hand. Placing the key on top of the chest, Serana turned to the bed and fell into it, embracing sleep as soon as her head touched the firm pillow.