Whitland woke to find the space beside him lonely and vacant. Something growled, and he tensed, the noise sounding distinctly like a bear. The room was empty except for him and the still sleeping Nord. He went over to Elvyr and discovered that his fever had broken. The Nord was deep in the throws of sleep and his snoring was ridiculously loud. Whitland's eyes swept around the hallway, but Serana was nowhere to be seen. Still weak, he used the wall to pull himself to his feet before making the slow trek into the main chamber.
He didn't find her there, but he discovered that all the vampires' corpses had been dragged to one corner of the room. Their bodies had been neatly laid out in rows and all of their eyes were closed. The scene might have been peaceful except for the cuts that covered each of their bodies. Cuts, he realized, that were the perfect width of a dagger. He spotted Elvyr's knives and an assortment of other small blades gathered in a pile on the floor.
He felt guilt gnaw at his insides as he realized who was responsible for the act. Serana must have removed the weapons and organized the corpses. How many had she known? How many she had spoken and laughed with? He noticed that her father wasn't among those assembled and figured that his body must still be in the cathedral. He hobbled through the rest of the castle in search, but he couldn't seem to find her.
Beginning to get worried, he made his way through the thick double doors to the outside. The air here was cutting and cold, a welcomed change from the stifling air that didn't mix well with the smell of dead. Taking in a deep lungful, he could taste the salt on his tongue. He watched as the waves lapped the shores of the island in an almost languid state.
His gaze drifted and settled on the crumbling tower in the distance. He squinted against the glare of the sun and made out a black dot on the top tier. It could only be her. His stomach rolled uneasily as he looked at the distance between him and the tower. Whitland sighed. She never made things easy.
He staggered across the bridge and towards the deteriorating archway of the tower. A rock made him loose his footing and fall gracelessly on his face in the dirt. His head whipped up to study the figure on the tower; there was no laughter. He let out a breath of relief. So she hadn't seen the mighty Dragonborn be brought down by a stone. Standing, he wiped the dust off his clothes before childishly kicking the offending rock away. And yes, he did feel a sort of smug satisfaction about it afterwards.
Whitland made it to the entryway of the tower and leaned heavily against the doorframe. His eyes followed the winding staircase ascend level after level until he could only groan. Using the wall as a crutch, he limped up each and every step, his side searing sporadically at the repeated abuse. It was endless. Eventually, the staircase opened up to the crown of the tower and he stopped short of the last few steps. Her back was to him, giving a perfect view of her slender figure. She stood still, but her inky hair fluttered in the ocean breeze.
Whitland stared at her, wondering if she ached for solitude or company. His eyes were drawn to the castle and he reprimanded himself. No one would just come up here alone unless they were looking to have some time to themselves. He was about to go back down the blasted staircase when she shifted.
"I know your there." said Serana. Her voice was tinged with amusement and he was glad she didn't feel intruded by his appearance.
He climbed the last steps and joined her at the edge of the tower. His eyes looked down at the rolling waves below them before moving discreetly to the vampire next to him. He took in the sight of her creamy flesh and the gentle curve of her neck. Drifting up, he saw her full, red lips and then traveled further to where he knew her warm eyes rested…to find her looking back at him. His staring must not have been quite as subtle as he'd thought.
He was relieved when her lips curled into a gentle smile and his body relaxed. She wasn't offended. Good. He did his best to casually return his gaze to the ocean.
"Beautiful view, isn't it?" Serana remarked. He could practically hear the laughter in her voice.
He could still picture her in his mind. "Yes, it is." he said softly.
"Some might say even eye-catching." she hinted and got the reaction she wanted.
He turned to her, noticing the bright smile edging its way onto her face. "Fine," he said grouchily, "You caught me. I was staring, not glancing, but full on, almost perversely, staring. There I said it. I'm not proud, or even remorseful of the fact." He crossed his arms. "How may I own up to it?"
Her eyes sparkled with humor. "That depends all on the reason you were doing it." she answered cryptically.
"I see. I'm in some big trouble then." She laughed and looked away from him into the distance. Together they watched the sun start to set, washing the sky into a blend of colors. There was a companionable silence.
"So it's all over with now," Serana mused, "The world is saved. I suppose I'll have to stay with the Dawnguard for awhile. They may not trust me but," she shrugged, "It's somewhere to go."
His brow furrowed. He had grown used to her presence and well…he certainly didn't want her to leave. "Will you go right away?" he questioned while he thought of ways of convincing her to stay. He was sure begging would at least amuse her.
She hesitated. "I have some…things to attend to that have come up. But yes, then I'll go."
He found himself speaking before rational thought could find him. "You know, you could stay with me." As soon as the words left his mouth, he almost cringed from how pathetic they made him sound. "I still have a few adventures left in me." he quickly added. There, that was manlier.
Serana locked her burning eyes on him, searching…for something. Her eyes dimmed a little and she looked away. "You're kind, but I can't."
He frowned, sensing something was wrong. "Why not?" She didn't answer. He gripped her arm. "Serana-"
She cut him off with a hiss. He quickly released her like the touch had burned him. Had he been too forward? But he saw the reason why when her face scrunched up in pain. He grasped her hand this time, gently, and held it still when she tried to pull away. She balled her hand in a tight fist, but she realized he wasn't going to let it go. Sighing dejectedly, she loosened her grip.
He opened her palm to see her slender fingers, and perfect, unblemished skin. Then he saw it hiding in the edges of her sleeve. A blistering burn ran from the inside of her wrist and up through the arm of her clothes. It was a perfect straight line, about an inch thick, and an angry red. He attempted to heal it, but the marking wouldn't budge.
"How far does it go?" he asked in a hushed voice.
Serana shook his hand off and concealed the burn with her sleeve. "It stops at my elbow." she said shortly.
"How-" he couldn't even form the question. His brain couldn't process what it was seeing. There was no possible way to get a burn that straight unless she had heated an iron bar and held it up to her skin. Luckily, she seemed to get what he was trying to ask.
"How did I get it?" she finished. Numbly, he nodded. "I don't know. After I blacked out in the cathedral, I woke to a scorching pain on my arm. The skin was burned and bleeding until I was left with this."
"Do you think it's over?"
"There's no way to tell. I planned on speaking with my Mother on the matter when I went to visit her in the Soul Cairn." That explained why she didn't want to accompany him. The information did little to make him feel better.
"I'm coming." he announced. Not that he really wanted to see Valerica, the woman was vastly paranoid, but he would help Serana in any way he could.
She snorted in a very unladylike fashion. "Don't be ridiculous. I saw you hobble all the way over here." He opened his mouth to protest but she continued before he could start. "And right now, all a person needs is a rock to topple you." And his mouth closed. "You're in no state to venture into the Cairn."
Fighting a blush from his embarrassment, his mind sparked into work. "We don't know when another one of these attacks will happen," he pointed out. "You're going to need me and I heal quickly. Admit it, you're stuck with me." he said with a smile and feeling proud of his logic.
"What about Elvyr?" she questioned. They couldn't very well abandon the Nord.
Whitland deflated for only a second before puffing himself up again. "He can tell the Dawnguard about our victory. He can rest and recover back at the fort and maybe meet with us later."
Serana sighed. "I suppose I don't have a choice." she said tragically into the sky, poorly hiding a smile from him.
He stepped closer until he could see the golden flecks in her eyes. "No, you don't." he whispered lowly and she shuddered. "As for my staring earlier," he smiled charmingly, "I was just thinking how kissable you looked. Tell me, what is the punishment for such a crime?"
Her eyes darkened, but instead of the witty quip he'd been expecting from her lips, or something of an entirely different nature, an alien look crossed her face and she averted her gaze. Her words sounded broken in his ears. "Let's just go check on Elvyr. The Nord should be up soon."
She brushed passed him, leaving him confused and lost. Where was the confidence or that sexy smile of hers? Where had it all gone? Things had been fine a minute ago… He shook his head, the answer eluding him. Even when they were undead, it seemed women remained a complete mystery to him and the rest of the male population. He had killed dragons, saved the world more times than he could count, but Divines help him now.
He was having woman problems.
A/N Sorry guys. I was going to write them together this chapter, but Serana just wouldn't let me. I foresee some future angst for our couple. By the by, I apologize for the slow and short update. I had to have surgery on my foot and then take all these different colored pills. And I grew sick on the antibiotics…summer has not been golden for me. I don't have internet from my computer so I had to actually save this chapter on a USB port I stole from my sister and go to a relative's house to upload this, but I did it for you! However, my phone is perfectly able to pick up on my emails which our linked to any reviews/favorites/follows/alerts/pm/etc.
Also, if there any actual fans of Elvyr out there, you have my deepest apologies. The Nord has always felt a third wheel to me, but he will probably rejoin the story at some later point.
Please Review! (or maybe I'll start holding my story hostage) *Pause* Do you get that sense that everyone is staring daggers at you? No? Hmm….funny…