Summary: In which Cicero and Athis take Serana home... and begin to regret it immediately.
The cavern exit turned out to be farther than they expected. It turned out to be full of skeletons and Draugr and a couple of gargoyles that came to life and attacked. But it also turned out Serana was a capable mage and a skilled necromancer and more than capable of holding her own. And so Serana's magic, Athis's blade skills and Cicero's sneak attacks and dirty fighting carried the day ("brother, you have not lived until you have kicked a Deathlord in the balls!" "Are those wise words from your mother as well, Cicero?" "SHUT UP ABOUT MY MOTHER, ATHIS, OR CICERO SHALL... er, heh heh, brother, let us not fight in front of pretty Serana, hmm? She is staring at us." "I'm wondering how the pair of you survived long enough to even find that monolith, never mind get me out of it"). And despite a delay while Cicero laboriously copied down the glyphs on the Word Wall at the end for the pretty Dragonborn who would surely appreciate a new Word of Power, wouldn't she, Athis, the three of them were eventually making their way to Dawnstar.
"It's so bright out here," Serana whispered, pulling her hood up in the early morning winter sunlight. "I don't know how you stand it!"
"But it is lovely and sunny, sweet Serana!" Cicero cooed, apparently unbothered by the fact they'd been in there all night. Bloody werewolf stamina. Bloody werewolves. Honestly, who else in Jorrvaskr knew? Were there others? It didn't bear thinking about.
The fact that Athis was on the verge of exhaustion himself, and the sunlight seemed to make it worse somehow, didn't help. Sleep. A few hours sleep would help sort this out, right? Right.
And so it was agreed that Cicero would take Serana to this little sanctuary he knew of just outside town to wait out the day there, while Athis reported in to the Jarl and then slept at the inn. Athis was tired enough not to question Cicero's overkeenness for Athis to not come with him to this sanctuary, and merely agreed to meet outside the old Vesuius house at sunset. So Cicero led Serana off and Athis staggered into the White Hall to report to Brina Merilis that Dimhollow Crypt was now safe, but at the cost of the Hall of the Vigilants.
"Ill news indeed," Brina responded, eyes shadowed. "There's been vampire attacks on settlements both in this Hold and elsewhere, but I'd hoped it was coincidence, sporadic attacks here and there by creatures so desperate to feed they'd attack indiscriminately. Alas, it appears otherwise. Attacking the Vigil shows intent behind this, and that they succeeded speaks of organisation. Still, it seems you've thwarted their intent in the Pale. You're sure they found nothing in Dimhollow Crypt?"
"We killed them before they could unearth anything. Whatever they hoped to find there is lost to them," Athis promised.
"All the same, I suppose I'll need to post guards there," Brina sighed. "Never mind. It's not for you to worry about. I'll notify the High Queen of what's transpired – she's concerned about the increased reports of vampire attacks in Skyrim, and while her husband's the last person to mourn the Vigil's loss, I know Markarth's had vampire attacks too. Here, take this with my thanks. You've earned it. Oh, and be sure to stop by the Windpeak Inn and rest before leaving for Whiterun. You really don't look well."
By Azura, he really wished people would stop bothering him. First Cicero, now the Jarl of the Pale. But while he could be snappy with Cicero, he couldn't afford to be rude to Jarls. So Athis took the coin, thanked her, dropped by the Windpeak Inn, paid for a room and fell asleep at once.
Meanwhile Serana followed Cicero as he led her through the town, past the docks, out on to the beach, round the cliffs and towards a black door hiding under a cliff ledge. A black door with a skull and five smaller ones emblazoned on it.
"Er, Cicero, should we really be in here?" Serana began, eyeing the door nervously. The thing was giving her the serious creeps and she'd been raised by Molag Bal worshippers.
"Yes!" Cicero enthused. "Do not fear, dear Serana, lovely Serana! Cicero has been here before! It is quite safe!"
"Ri-i-i-ight," Serana said, folding her arms and waiting while Cicero skipped over to the door and whispered something to it. Then the door slid open.
"Coming?" Cicero cooed. "Do not worry! Cicero isn't planning to murder you!"
That was not reassuring, in fact it was the opposite of reassuring and sunlight be damned, town full of vampire-phobic humans be damned, Serana was very tempted to turn and run back to the inn and take her chances with the mortals. But Cicero was beaming at her and clearly not about to take no for an answer, and so Serana reluctantly followed the demented little jester inside.
It wasn't quite as bad inside as Serana had feared. No blood, bodies or sacrificial altars. Just the empty remains of what had once been someone's living space but no more. Cicero set up some bedrolls by the empty fireplace and began stoking up the fire.
"Take one, take one," Cicero said, pointing at a bedroll. "The pretty vampire must rest! Cicero is going to have a little food and then sleep. Serana may do the same... if vampires still eat, of course. Sadly, Cicero has no blood other than his own, and Cicero isn't sure Serana should drink his blood. Cicero would not mind, but, er, it might turn Serana into a werewolf as well. That would be... bad. The first turning is... intense. It is not something one should undertake without... preparation. Serana might become confused and upset! Serana might run out of the Sanctuary in a panic and eat half the town! It is very dangerous. Why, when Cicero had his first turning, four people died!"
"Why, were you confused?" Serana asked, only to see the gleam in Cicero's eyes and realise that no, he'd not been confused, he'd had a very good time.
"No!" Cicero giggled. "But Serana does not need to hear this. So Cicero shall go to bed and Serana may explore if she wishes. Only Serana should not venture down the snow tunnel. That would be bad. Very bad."
"Why, what's down the snow tunnel?" Serana asked, already glancing over at the entrance.
"Serana doesn't want to know," Cicero said, snuggling into his bedroll and rolling over. Serana narrowed her eyes and wondered what he was hiding. Quite a lot, she could tell. So she left him to it and decided to explore.
There wasn't a lot. Mostly fallen-in corridors, a bridge over what turned out to be an old training room and armoury. One book on archery and another on the history of Tamrielic assassins' guilds, principally the Morag Tong of Morrowind, and their Cyrodiilic offshoot and rivals, the Dark Brotherhood. Serana had never heard of either but she looked at Cicero and had to wonder if perhaps he had more knowledge of both than he was saying. Then there was the snow tunnel. Now what on Nirn was down here? So Serana explored... and when the troll lumbered into view, she had her answer.
"Where'd you come from?" Serana yelled, blasting Ice Spikes and lightning at it, backing off and wishing she'd bothered to learn fire magic, and this was not going well, even draining its life wasn't working fast enough, damn it!
And then an unearthly howling echoed through the tunnels, the thudding of footsteps behind her, and then a red-furred beast barrelled past her, shrieking as it pounced on to the troll and tore into it, blood spurting everywhere as one beast ripped another apart, the red one's claws sending the troll flying.
It looked a bit like a wolf but surely not...
The troll breathed its last, and the wolf-thing sat back and made a rather strange noise that sounded almost like it was laughing, and then it began to preen itself, meticulously cleaning its fur off. It didn't seem interested in Serana at all, and then Serana got closer and recognised the scent.
"Cicero?" Serana gasped, and the wolf looked up, tongue out and mouth curved into what looked like a grin, and then it bounded forward, sitting on its heels in front of her and actually barked, before inching closer and rubbing its head against her while making this ridiculously cute whining noise and promptly rolling onto its back.
Serana knelt down, unable to help smiling. Honestly, it was just like CuSith or Garmr, fierce on the outside but secretly willing to do anything for a belly rub. So she gave Cicero a belly scratch, even laughing a little as Cicero rolled around on the floor, barking happily and seeming to be quite enjoying himself... until Cicero turned back and she was stroking the chest of a naked man.
Serana yelped and sprang back like she'd been burned, and Cicero's grin had gone very fixed. Then he glanced down, whimpered nervously and promptly covered his bits.
"It does not normally look like that," Cicero said nervously. "Only it is very cold in here."
"I don't care – gods, can you just get dressed!" Serana cried, mortified. Cicero whimpered nervously and nodded, scampering off still clutching his privates while Serana looked away, almost wishing she was still in that stone coffin. She didn't move until she heard Cicero call back down the tunnel.
"Cicero is dressed now! Serana can come back!"
She came back to find Cicero hunched down in his bedroll, armour back on and a rather nervous look on his face. Well, at least he was suitably embarrassed, and so he should be.
"Thank you for killing the troll, and Daedra's sake, I did not need to see you naked!" Serana cried. "I'm not into... I mean, look, I – I don't want to – you're not my type!"
Cicero just whimpered again and nodded frantically.
"Yes Serana," Cicero whispered. "Cicero is sorry, Serana! Cicero didn't mean to – Cicero was being friendly! Cicero likes belly rubs when he's in beast form, it's nice! But... er... Cicero forgot it wears off. Um. Er. Cicero shall stay here! In his bedroll. Covered! Dressed! Definitely not nude and in no way wishing to inconvenience and embarrass poor unprepared Serana!"
"Good," Serana snapped, crawling into her own bedroll. "Because you're cute. But not THAT cute!"
There was only another embarrassed whimper from Cicero, and Serana sighed and prepared to sleep. He had saved her, she supposed. At least he'd had the nerve to look embarrassed. And he'd been the unexpectedly naked one. And he wasn't trying anything stupid. She'd dealt with worse.
Such as my father offering me to Molag Bal. Serana closed her eyes and tried not to see the Lord of Domination's form flash before her eyes. She'd made her peace with it a long time ago, understood it had been the only way to avoid seeing her once beloved father die in front of her. But all the same, it didn't make the nightmares go away.
Athis's mood hadn't improved much when Cicero and Serana finally deigned to show up, Serana looking a little rattled by something, and Cicero looking rather nervous and unusually submissive, even for him.
"About time you two showed up," Athis snapped. "I've been waiting over an hour for you." About the only saving grace had been feeling his energy return once night fell, but he still felt... restless. He wasn't sure why. All he knew was that Cicero had been keeping him waiting and if the little idiot wasn't married to Athis's girlfriend, Athis was fairly certain he'd have hit him by now.
"Cicero is sorry!" Cicero gasped. "We overslept. But we are here now! And look, there is a ferry available! Shall we ask if he will take us to Serana's home?"
Serana trailed behind, hefting the backpack she'd had with her in that monolith. Odd shape for a backpack though, long, thin, easily four feet long. What in Oblivion was in it?
The covering slipped to reveal gold and a glinting jewel that caught the moonlight.
"Azura, what's in there?" Athis gasped. "Is it valuable?"
Serana cursed and re-covered it.
"If you must know, it's an Elder Scroll," Serana snapped. "And it's mine."
"Why in the Void have you got an Elder Scroll?" Athis demanded, at the same time as Cicero poked nervously at it and anxiously asked if they needed to be careful with it.
"That is none of your business," Serana said tersely. "And don't worry, Cicero. It'll be fine. It's an Elder Scroll, they're not fragile."
"That's not what bothered me," Athis muttered, and Cicero was still looking a bit worried as the two approached the ferryman. Gods, but this vampire gave him the creeps. Sooner they got this woman back to her family and out of their hair the better.
Of course, first they had to get there, and judging from Cicero's attempt to negotiate with the ferryman, it wasn't going well.
"Five hundred septims? FIVE HUNDRED SEPTIMS?" Cicero shrieked. "We are going to Icewater Jetty near Northwatch Keep, not all the way to Daggerfall! The fare to Solitude is only fifty septims, Icewater Jetty is not ten times the difference, the sea not ten times rougher! This is DAYLIGHT ROBBERY!"
"Actually, it's not. Daylight, that is," the unperturbed ferryman replied. "You want night travel, you pay extra. Five hundred septims or you can walk it."
Cicero growled before turning to Athis.
"Brother, he is charging an outrageous amount," Cicero snarled. "I suppose that is most of the money the Jarl gave you."
Athis admitted that was the case. "But if it bothers you that much, we could just pay fifty and walk from Solitude."
Cicero scuffed at the snow and muttered something about 'too far' and 'too cold' and 'ice wraiths'.
"I suppose we cannot accept his offer, let him take us there and then slit his throat on arrival and reclaim our gold," Cicero sighed.
"No," Athis said firmly, not for the first time wondering just who Cicero's previous company had been. Not one with any honour, that was certain. "Look, we picked up all sorts of loot in Dimhollow, we'll sell some of that, it's fine."
Cicero muttered something about never getting this sort of treatment back in Cyrodiil, but with Serana tapping her foot impatiently and Athis insisting on acting honourably, Cicero had no choice but to go along with it. Honestly, they wouldn't have had this trouble if Eola was here instead. Eola would have thought his plan to go along with it then murder the ferryman, take their gold back and hide the body was a fine one. They could even have cooked and eaten the corpse after dropping Serana off. They could have had a romantic beachside picnic. It would have been nice. Cicero still had some Alto wine in his rucksack, that went with anything. Alas, Cicero was stuck with the insufferable elf. What Eola saw in him, Cicero had no idea, although Cicero was willing to bet Athis knew nothing of the Namira worship. She certainly hadn't told him about the beast blood from the sound of it. Honestly, what sort of partner kept that sort of thing from their beloved? Still, not Cicero's place to judge. He made a mental note to have a quiet conversation with Eola on his return to Jorrvaskr, make clear that this could not end well. But for now, they had a vampire to reunite with her family. Her father might not be a good man, but he was still her father and Cicero wasn't one to keep a father and daughter apart. And so the three of them boarded the boat and set sail. Castle Volkihar awaited.
"Hey. So. Before we go in..."
Serana was hanging back behind the two men, hood up as the sun started to rise behind distant Mount Haafingar, looking pensively up at her childhood home.
"What now?" Athis growled, and he was getting ridiculously short-tempered just lately, or so Cicero thought anyway. Yes he wasn't always the friendliest of people, but he was usually fairly patient with people who weren't intolerably rude. In the last day or so though, he'd been positively snappy. As if he was hungover or something. Was he ill? He could be ill, Cicero supposed. Even so, he could at least make an effort to be civil.
"Is something wrong, lovely and forgiving Serana?" Cicero inquired, feeling one of them should be polite, if Athis wasn't going to bother.
"No," Serana sighed. "At least... look, I wanted to thank you both for getting me this far. I know you went some way out of your way to help me home and spent all that coin on the ferry and didn't stab the ferryman either, for which thank you, Cicero, I didn't really want to have to help dispose of a body on my first day awake."
"It was... no trouble," Cicero said, grinning despite the involuntary gritting of the teeth that occurred as he remembered Athis holding his hand and digging his nails in and firmly hissing "no!" in Cicero's ear.
"Anyway," Serana continued, muscle in her cheek only twitching slightly as she repressed a grin at Cicero. "I just wanted to let you know that I'm not sure what we'll find when we get in there, but afterwards, I'm going to go my own way for a while. And... I know you're both Companions of Jorrvaskr and committed to the path of honour and all that, and that you're probably more accustomed to walking into vampire lairs and slaughtering everything in there."
Enthusiastic nodding from Cicero, until Athis nudged him to perhaps be a bit more tactful, and Cicero stopped nodding and just schooled his face into polite neutrality instead.
"Well, I'm hoping you can both show a little more control than that," Serana said, before glancing at Cicero. "That includes not transforming, Cicero. I don't really want to see you naked again."
Cicero went bright pink and spluttered as Athis turned to look at him, truly fascinated on hearing this.
"It was... that is to say... it was unintentional!" Cicero managed to get out. "Accidental! And... and it was cold! Cicero doesn't normally look like that!"
Athis by this point was desperately keen to know what happened and even more desperately trying not to laugh, and Serana was smirking herself as she led the way to the castle gates.
There was a human watchman on duty, who stared in amazement as Serana walked in, but recovered his wits sufficiently to unlock the door. Cicero and Athis ran closer to Serana and stayed close behind as they entered into a castle of potentially hostile vampires.
One such vampire, an Altmer who'd almost certainly been in his later years on being turned, was striding forwards to greet them, and he did not look happy.
"Who are you intruders?" the vampire snapped. "How dare you trespass here- wait. Serana?"
"It looks like I'm expected," Serana commented as the Altmer practically raced into the main hall.
"My lord! Everyone! Serana has returned!"
A rustle of activity as an entire court convened, the name Serana on everyone's lips, and as Serana walked back into the court with all the confidence of a vampire princess, Cicero and Athis glanced at each other before huddling together in a rather un-Companionlike fashion and sidling along in Serana's wake.
"Serana! My long-lost daughter, returned at last. And you have my Elder Scroll, I trust?"
The vampire in fine purple and black armour, flowing cloak like Serana's, and her pale skin and dark hair, advancing towards her with arms outstretched, must be her father. But the hug he gave her was nothing like the warm, enthusiastic bear hug that Madanach gave Eola whenever he saw her. No cooing over his baby girl from this man.
"Of course I have the scroll, honestly, all these years and that's the first thing you ask me?" Serana sighed. Serana's father laughed once, delighted smile barely shifting, and Cicero had a feeling that perhaps, just perhaps, bringing Serana here was not actually a good thing and that reuniting her with her father was a Very Bad Idea.
"Of course I'm delighted to see you, my daughter. Must I really say the words aloud? Ah, if only your traitor mother were here. I'd let her watch this reunion before putting her head on a spike. Now tell me, who are these strangers that you've brought into this hall?" He'd turned his attention to them, still that calculating smile on his face that reminded Cicero very forcefully of Madanach, except without the warmth that Madanach was known to show towards his people. Cicero edged closer to Athis.
"They're my saviours, the ones who freed me," Serana explained. "They're called Athis and Cicero."
Cicero nodded nervously, smiling despite being quietly terrified. Cicero didn't fear a lot, but this man was giving him a serious case of the chills.
"Athis and Cicero," the vampire murmured. "I take it the human is Cicero – it sounds like a Cyrodiil name."
"Yes sir," Cicero whispered. "Humble Cicero, sir, at your, er, service. And this is his brother in arms, Athis."
"Sir," Athis said curtly, inclining his head. "Serana told us what you are. We've returned her home at her request, we intend no further intrusion."
"I'm glad to hear it," the vampire smirked. "My name is Harkon, lord of this court. And we are among the oldest and most powerful vampires in Skyrim. For centuries we lived here, far from the cares of the world. All that changed when my wife betrayed me and stole away that which I valued most."
Cicero didn't like to ask whether he meant Serana or the Scroll. He was very definitely reminded of Madanach by this point, Madanach's first marriage was notorious for having been a disaster for all concerned and Eola barely had a good word to spare for her thankfully now deceased mother. But one thing Cicero did know, Madanach might not be the nicest man out there but above and beyond even his own life or cause, he loved his children. He wasn't remotely convinced the same was true of Harkon.
Athis was clearly thinking along similar lines, because that question was the first thing out of his mouth.
"That being Serana, I trust. Are you going to offer us a reward?"
Harkon's fangs flashed in a grin that unnerved Cicero to the core, and he'd seen Matriarch Keirine with her glamours off and not flinched.
"I was about to suggest that very thing," Harkon laughed. "For my daughter's safe return, you have my gratitude, of course. But there is only one thing of equal value to Serana and the Elder Scroll. My blood. Take it, both of you, and you will walk as lions among sheep. Men will tremble at your approach and you will never fear death again!"
A confusing thought for Cicero, because he didn't fear death anyway. He'd regarded it with ambivalence at worst, but more often as an old friend, and any anger he had towards death was for taking his blood mother away from him too soon... and many years later, taking his father too, before Cicero even realised they were kin. Hard to forgive that, and Cicero didn't think he'd be following either into the afterlife, not really... but that didn't stop him wishing he could follow after them. He could hardly do that if he was an immortal vampire, could he?
Also he didn't want men to tremble at his approach. If they knew he was there, something had gone very very wrong.
"What, you're offering to make us vampires?" Athis said, voice sounding strangled, and Cicero was relieved to know Athis at least was of like mind on this.
"Yes," Harkon nodded. "Well?"
"What if we say no?" Athis growled. "Forcing us into it doesn't sound like much of a reward to me."
"Oh I would not force you," Harkon laughed. "If one or both declines, I will spare your life this once as a reward and banish you from this court instead of killing you. But after that, like all mortals, you become prey. Well, what do you say?"
"Um, sir?" Cicero managed to get up the courage to say. "Cicero is already a werewolf, what happens...?"
"Yes, I know, I can smell it from here," Harkon growled, grimacing as he acknowledged the aroma of the beast blood. "Don't worry, my blood will purge that filth from you. You'll be whole again."
Whole? But Cicero was whole now, a child of two Daedra, a child of Hircine and Namira, with Sanguine and Mehrunes Dagon also taking an interest, and despite having lost both his blood parents, and the Night Mother abandoning him, Cicero didn't really regret where he'd ended up. Not to mention Aela's reaction when she found out he'd thrown Hircine's blood away. It truly didn't bear thinking about.
"Perhaps you still need convincing," Harkon added, seeing them wavering. "Behold the power!"
Blood veins appearing on pale skin, Harkon seeming to bow, blood coating him entirely, and then in seconds it was done and Harkon no longer looked remotely human. A vampire form like a werewolf's beast form or a Hagraven's true face, and there were fangs and wings and claws and oh Sithis, Cicero was in a lot of trouble.
"Brother..." Cicero whispered. "Brother, we need to..."
Athis didn't need telling twice. Taking Cicero's hand in his, two Shield-Brothers who usually bickered non-stop united for once, Athis gave the reply.
"Fuck that. Cicero, we're leaving."
Cicero nodded, slowly backing away, free hand going to his dagger as Harkon furiously raised his hands to cast.
"Then you are prey!" Harkon growled. "I banish you!"
The spell hit them both, and until they woke up, dazed and confused on the beach near Icewater Jetty, Cicero and Athis knew no more.