The Touch of Love

Serana waited for me inside of the Rowboat as I looked up at the castle she grew up in and wonder just how many Serana's memories bounced around within those stone walls, the way Serana made it sound was as if it was a prison to her. It made a little flame within my heart heat up, who would ever want to cage this amazing person away from the world like that? And then to have her locked away within a stone tomb for only Gods know how long.

It seemed that this girl's whole life revolved around being imprisoned. No wonder she suffered from extreme loneliness, and no wonder she wanted a friend so badly. I smiled slightly as I ungracefully hopped into the boat. Serana placed an arm on my shoulder to keep me from toppling into the freezing water. Sitting down in time to see that she was smiling, amused by my clumsiness. I smiled at her too, I remembered my last thought and you know what? I think that I'm lucky she wanted a friend and also lucky that it was I who found her, I love having her by my side. The thought of not having her by my side actually scares me an insane amount.

I took hold of the ores and began to Row. We were in the dead of night so it was not as easy to spot us. I could see Serana's red glowing eyes looking up at the castle as we drew closer.

"We are almost there.." She said calmly. "When we get to the shore we will not be taking the front entrance... But instead we will walk around to the side of the castle and to a hidden entrance that we used to use for supply transport." She explained quietly.

I nodded and remained quiet as she kept a lookout for any unwanted eyes. I looked up at the moon as I continued to row. There were only a few clouds out but it was a full moon... And as a werewolf I felt so empowered by it at the moment, I felt as though I could run for miles. My energy was overflowing.

It was so quiet out, the only thing that could be heard was the paddle continually entering and exiting the water as I continued to row. Something in the water caught my eye. My brow furrowed as I glanced at my reflection, I was not surprised to see that my eyes were glowing blue. It was a side effect of a full moon, it also means that I was a full power tonight. I smiled as I put my attention back to my rowing. The full moon might just come to my advantage tonight. Serana looked at me for a moment and it didn't take long for her to notice my eyes. At first she looked confused but I'm pretty sure she knew what was happening. She smiled slightly before she continued to watch for anything that could be bad for us.

When we finally hit the shore I jumped out of the boat and pulled it more onto the land before I helped her out.

"Let's go." She said as she jogged ahead. I followed her, we ran right past the path that would have lead us up to the entrance and down the side of the castle. We were about to run past a rock face but she stopped me by blocking me with her arms so I couldn't take another step.

"What's wrong?" I whispered confused. She pointed towards the docks that lead up to the hidden entrance that we were going to take.

"Look... There's walking skeletons..." I squinted and I was able to make out their movement in the dark. "That's not good..." I whispered as I pulled out my crossbow.

I slowly snuck out from my hiding spot and hid behind a rock. It was small enough so I could rest my crossbow on top and shoot. As I aimed I was able to make out four more Skeletons.

"Target practice anyone..." I whispered as I released a bolt. It hit the first Skeleton and it fell on impact. I heard a few of its bones fall into the water. My eyes went wide and I instantly hid behind the rock and covered my mouth. Serana looked at me with wide red eyes. Oops..." I mouthed to her before I gently wacked the back of my head against the rock. Why didn't I think about that? Of course its bones would fall into the water and make noise.

Serana gently placed her hand on the back of my head to stop me from whacking it against the rock.

"Shh.. No its ok... look... They are not the smartest creatures." She said motioning towards the remaining Skeletons. I arched an eyebrow and peaked over the rock again. She was right, they were wondering around just like they had been before.

"Hm."' I hummed as I placed my crossbow on top of the rock and fired at the remaining skeletons. It didn't take to long for me to pick them all off. "Ha." I breathed as I stood up from my hiding spot.

Serana looked around for a second before she ran ahead. "Follow me." I heard her whisper as she continued along her way. She waited for me at the hidden entrance. She put a finger to her lips before she carefully pulled the old wooden door open. She took a moment to peek inside before she slipped in. I blinked a few times before I looked up at the moon. I took a deep breath and followed her into the darkness.

I took a few steps into the black, but I stopped walking when I realized just how useless I was in the dark. "Serana..." I whispered as I leaned against a wall as if it was my lifeline.

I felt a gentle hand take hold of mine and pull me close. "I'm here... Give me a moment." She said as she squeezed my hand. A second later a glowing blue ball appeared. I rubbed my eyes at the sudden change in lighting.

"Wow." I whispered as I looked at it.

"It's a spell I just learned, it's called candle light, I thought it would come in handy here." She said as she smiled at me.

I poked the light and it glowed even brighter for a moment. "I didn't want you to run into anything down here and break a leg." She giggled.

I looked at her and smiled. "That probably would happen too." I said with a chuckle. She shook her head and smiled before she looked around.

"I used to explore these dungeons all the time... I know them like the back of my hand... " She said as she ran her fingertips along the wall. "I didn't have anything else to do so I spent most of my time exploring." She finished with a shrug.

I looked around and saw many different paths and realized how easy it would be to get lost in this place. "Did you ever lose you way?" I asked her.

She looked at me for a moment and nodded. "Lots of times, but honestly when you have all the time in the world you know eventually that you will find your way." She said quietly. "I looked at it like this... I had forever in the palm of my hands... I didn't mind getting lost, in fact there was a few times where I came down here to get lost." She said as she began to slowly walk down a path.

I walked beside her as I took in her words. "You... Wanted to be lost?" I asked slowly.

Serana nodded and turned to me. "Yes..." She was quiet for a moment before she continued. "Part of me thought if iIlost myself... I would be able to find the part of me that was already lost beforehand." She laughed quietly. "I never did find that part of me though..."

My heart actually started to hurt at her words. All I could do was listen. She opened her mouth to continued but stopped instantly. "Shh!." She shushed and dropped down to a sneak position.

I pulled out my crossbow and readied and bolt. My eyes went wide when I saw a Death hound appear from around a corner. Serana pushed me down a path to keep me from its view. I fell backwards and looked at her confused. She once again brought a finger to her lips. Her hand ignited with fire and she charged at it. My eyes went wide with fear for her. I jumped to my feet and before I could get to her the Hound was already dead and she stood over it with a smile on her face. I let out a breath and looked at her confused.

"I never explained to you about our hounds... I couldn't let you attack one if you didn't know how to approach one." She said with her brow furrowed. I put my crossbow away and I followed her down another path. "You see... Death hounds can be killed with normal weapons like your crossbow there..." She said pointing at the crossbow on my back. "But it would kill you before you kill it." She said quietly. "You need to attack it with fire, that's it's weakness. If you don't you won't be fast enough… Once they get their teeth into you... That's it, you're done." She said looking at me with a scared expression on her face.

All I could do was nod and remember her advice and hope for the best. We made our way down more paths and eventually we met a cross road. She led me down one way and we had to hunt for a switch. We did find it and soon we stood in front of the door that stood between us and the courtyard. She looked so excited.

"I haven't seen it in so long." She said with a smile on her face. She looked at me. "I'm happy you are here with me." She suddenly said. I began to blush like I was cooking in my armor. She obviously saw my blush because her smile grew. She giggled and pushed the door open.

I heard her gasp at the sight. I followed her in and what I saw broke my heart, but I knew it was nothing compared to what she felt at that moment. I could see what once was a garden was now destroyed. It looked as if everything had been burned. The trees were dead and the flowers looked so sad. I looked over to what used to be a large doorway was now caved in as if her father didn't ever want anyone coming in here ever again.

I turned to find Serana on her knees with her hands over her mouth in front of a giant sundial. I rushed to her side and dropped to my knees beside her.

"Serana..." I whispered as I rubbed her back gently.

She shook her head. "He destroyed everything..." She whispered. "I... Didn't think he would go this far..." She shook her head again and slowly stood. "What am I saying..?" She said. "I knew that he had changed, I should have seen this coming..." She said quietly. I stood with her as she rubbed her eyes. She turned to me and shook her head. "He is a horrible man… He needs to be stopped.. If he can do this." She said motioning to what was once a beautiful garden. "Just imagine what he would do to the rest of the world." She said quietly.

I nodded. "I am at you side, and will be when you need me as I am now." I said. She looked at me for a moment. A small smile appeared on her lips as she looked around.

"I don't understand though..." She said as she walked closer to the sundial. "Some of the phases of the moon are missing? Why?" she said rubbing her forehead. I looked around and it was not too hard to find a piece.

I ran over to it and picked it up. It had a bit of weight to it. I ran back over to the sundial with Serana's curious eyes on me. "What are you doing?" She chuckled slightly amused.

"Honestly?" I said as I went to the spot it would fit. "I have no clue." I said with a silly look on my face as I placed the piece where it would fit and almost instantly it locked into place. My eyes went wide.

"Oook..." I whispered as I took a step back.

"Gods..." Serana whispered. " I didn't know it did that.." She quickly looked around. "Hurry! Let's find the rest." She said as she began to look for the other pieces.

It didn't take too long, we found all the parts and put them into their place, when they were all locked the sundial sunk in the ground revealing a hidden staircase. "Very clever mother..." Serana whispered as she began to follow the steps down into the unknown.

The paths lead us into what looked like a large study. There were ingredients everywhere and a round structure in the middle. I stumbled upon her mother's journal and that seemed to make her excited. She began to read it as I continued to look around. It didn't take long for me to realize something.

"Your mother... And you, you study necromancy?" I asked as I turned back to Serana. Only to find that she had made her way up a flight of stairs and was standing on a balcony that looked over the round structure in the middle of the room.

She looked at me as she bit her lower lip. "Yes... we do, my mother taught me everything I know..."

I nodded and made my way up the stairs and to her. "I'm sorry if that bothers you." She said as she refused to look at me.

I shook my head and smiled. "Nonsense! I don't mind at all." I said with a smile. She looked at me confused. "It's one of the many things that make you Unique, it makes you who you are." I said with a smile.

Serana smiled at me and looked down at her book. "Did you find anything interesting?" I asked her. She nodded. She then sent me to fetch a few ingredients.

I placed them in a bowl and she added a bit of her own blood to it. Seconds later a portal appear. She explained its where tapped souls go and that is where he mother most likely hid.

I nodded and began to walk down into the portal only to be painfully zapped and thrown back a few feet. I fell backwards and I laid on the ground in a daze.

"Skylar!" I heard Serana scream before she was on her hands and knees beside me. She snapped her fingers a few times in front of my eyes. "Hey, hey, hey, come on stay awake." She said as she patted the side of my face. "Skylar! please tell me you're ok." She cried.

I blinked a few times before I sat up. "What happened?" I asked her. She shook her head. "I am so sorry, I don't know why I didn't realize this before. You are still mortal you will be harmed if you enter it." She let out a breath before she pulled me into a hug. Surprised I hugged her back.

"I'm ok." I said as I rubbed her arm. "You are lucky you weren't killed." She whispered.

We stayed like this for a few moments before she helped me to my feet. She kept a hand on my shoulder as she watched me for a few seconds to be sure that I could walk. When she was certain she removed her hand but her eyes did not seem to want to leave me. I looked at her with a worried look on my face. "So I can't get in there?" I asked as I rubbed my arm, I must have landed on it the wrong way.

Serana shook her head and took a breath. "Well there are two ways you could..." She said as she rubbed her hands together as she thought.

"And they are...?" I pressed as I waited.

"Well the first would be to turn you into a vampire." She said with a shrug.

I nodded. "And I'm guessing that's out of the question for me." I asked and she nodded.

"Well at the moment it is... We don't have much time and a ritual would be required to remove the wolf from you..." She paused for a moment. "Besides I don't want to push you into something that you don't want to do, it's not like changing an outfit, you would be a creature of the night like me... Also..." She said looking down at the ground now. "Changing someone or even simply biting them is considered very intimate..." She refused to look at me. "Again I don't want to force you to do anything."

I bit my lower lip as a blush appeared on my face.

"The other option is to partly soul trap you." She quickly changed the subject. "You would be extremely weakened within the soul plains." She said looking up at me with her brow furrowed. "I'm sorry... Those are the only options..." She finished. I nodded and looked down at the portal.

"Ok... Soul trap me." I said as I watched the portal below us wave and dance as if it was a dream.

"I promise to make this as painless as possible." She said as she stepped closer to me.

I nodded again. "I trust you Serana..." I said turning to her. Her mouth fell open slightly as her brow furrowed for a second, but then it changed to a smile.

"Thank you." She murmured.

I smiled at her before I continued. "And just to let you know... I would let you change me, In fact I would be happy that it would be you." I said as a mad blush appeared on my face.

Serana's eyes widened slightly. Her expression changed to one that showed extreme happiness.

"Really?" She asked as she took my hands in hers.

I nodded with a small smile on my own lips. "Yes."

She stared into my eyes for a second before she brought a hand up and cupped my cheek. I leaned into her touch. She just looked at me for a moment before she moved her hand to move a stray strand of hair behind my ear.

She pulled me closer and wrapped her arms around my waist and mine around her neck. I could feel my heart pounding and it was at that moment I realized that I had been waiting for this since the moment I met her.

She leaned her forehead against mine and a second later I felt her lips brush against my own. They were so soft, I didn't want this moment to ever end. The kiss was to tender and loving. She took it slow and soon I began to dance with her lips. I felt her arms tighten around me as the kiss slowly grew into something more. Eventually though we had to pull away for air. We leaned our foreheads against each other's and gazed into the others eyes. Serana had such a beautiful smile on her face when I opened my eyes. I giggled slightly as she placed a kiss on the tip of my nose, then my cheek, then my jawline... And before I knew it she placed such a tender kiss on my neck. I held my breath and closed my eyes as I felt her breath against my tender skin.

"You really do trust me..." She whispered. I kept my arms around her, I didn't want to let her go. I could feel her embrace tighten ever so slightly as her face was buried into the side of my neck.

"...I would never hurt you..." She whispered. I wondered if she expected me to pull away when she got to my neck. That was the area vampires usually used to end their victims life. I believed her, she would never hurt me. I tilted my head slightly to give her more access as she placed a soft kiss where my jugular was before she pulled away. I opened my eyes to see her watching me. I blushed slightly. Her arms were still around me as she placed a kiss on my forehead. She pulled away and I instantly missed her touch.

Serana cleared her throat and giggled.

"That was... Nice." She said with her smile still on her face. I smiled at her and I realized I was still blushing.

She laughed but then she cleared her throat. "I really hate that we have to cut this short, I mean I really hate to... But we need to get in there." She said as she motioned towards the portal. I nodded.

"Of course..." I said as I watched her pull out a Grand Soul Gem. I suddenly felt scared. She looked up at me with a sad look on her face.

"I promise to make it quick..." She said as she prepared her spell. It was then I realized just how serious this was, I mean I was allowing her to take a part of my soul! I swallowed my fear and took a deep breath as she took a step back from me. She looked at my face as she raised her hand. "I would never hurt you..." She said as her hand began to glow. I closed my eyes as the light grew intensely bright.

"I know..." I said just before I felt the impact.