Skylar whimpered as she tried to roll onto her side.
"Stop moving!" Dash commanded.
"I can't find a comfortable position!" Skylar hissed in pain as she tried to get off her back.
"Rolling around won't do you any good! You will reopen them!" Dash said as he stood over her.
She glared at him but then sighed as she slowly laid back down onto her back.
"This sucks..." She muttered. "I hate just laying here!" She said though clenched teeth.
"I know but what exactly can you do, you're basically in shreds." Dash chuckled as he sat on a nearby dresser.
"Not funny." Skylar murmured as she looked out a window.
"You nearly lost your leg." Dash said pointing at one of her legs. "One of them tried to eat it right off you." Dash said.
Skylar couldn't lift her head to look down at it, instead she could feel it throbbing. "So that's why it hurts like a bitch." She said with a sigh.
"It has not been a good few days for you now has it?" Dash said as he looked down at his hands. Skylar shook her head.
"Want to add to it?" He suddenly asked her as he bit is lower lip. "What do you know Dash?" She figured that he was hiding something from her. She caught on the moment she had regained consciousness.
"Well... Those werebears as you call them... Well... Let's just say because it was them who caused you this damage... Your body will heal as fast as a normal human's body." Dash said as he covered his ears preparing himself for Skylar to freak out.
"Wait... What?" She asked looking up at him only to find that he was sitting there with his fingers in his ears like a child. "Dash? Dash!?" She tried but he refused to listen.
"He's right." She heard Aela say. "Being mauled by one of them means that you have to heal like a normal human being… Trust me I know." Aela said gently. "It's like they were made to kill werewolves." She finished with a shrug.
"But that means I could be here for months." Skylar exclaimed. Aela only nodded sadly.
Skylar groaned and covered her face with her hands. "This can't be happening!" She said frustrated.
"Consider yourself lucky." She said firmly. "You could be one of the bodies that little the battle feild." She said as she stood.
"How many did we lose?" Skylar suddenly asked right out of the blue.
Aela's eyes went wide. "Pardon?" She asked not wanting to answer.
"You heard me, how many died." She asked hoping that what she remembered was simply a nightmare and not reality.
Aela shifted her weight from one foot to another before she sighed in defeat. "All of them, you, me, Skjor, Farkas, and Vilkas are all that remain." She explained. "Skjor and the twins have gone out recruiting." She added.
This made Skylar cover her face with her hands again. "We cannot try that again, its suicide." Skylar muffled though her hands.
"I know." Aela said with a nod. "What exactly can we do though, if we just sit back and wait they will hunt us down in our sleep, like I said these things... They want us all dead, no matter who stands in our way." Aela said as she made her way over to the door. "Now, try and rest... You have a very long recovery road ahead of you." She said before she stepped out.
Aela didn't make it too far down the hallway before she heard a frustrated groan from Skylar. All she could do was shake her head in guilt. Somehow she blamed herself for Skylar's injuries but there was nothing she could do... She needed to step back and allow the smaller woman to heal like she had done.
Serana had heard the rumors of the werewolf attack that was not too far off from Whiterun. So that was where she and Isran were going to begin their search. When they arrived her stomach twisted and turned at the sight of mauled bodies that lay scattered around on the ground.
"What the hell happened here." Isran said as he made his way over to a body.
"Skylar would never do something like this!" Serana said before Isran could even think it.
"I know... Whatever did this is bloodthirsty, something Skylar is not." Isran said as he stood. "Doesn't mean she was not here though..." He said as he walked over to a tree when something shinning on the ground caught his eye.
"What do you mean?" Serana asked worriedly.
She watched as Isran bent down for a couple of seconds before he grasped something and stood. "This is one of her bolts." He said as he showed it to Serana.
Serana took it from him. He was right, it had her sent on it. "How did you know?" Serana asked as she pushed haunted thoughts away.
"Because she usually uses a knife to engrave designs into their shafts when she is bored.
Serana arched a brow as she looked down at the bolt, sure enough he was right. A rather beautify design had been engraved into the wood. She ran her fingers over it and smiled. How did she never notice Skylar doing that? Perhaps she was never bored when she was around Serana?
Serana looked back over at Isran who had a rather serious look on his face. "She was thrown into this tree." He said quietly. "With a lot of force, enough for her to lose all of her bolts." He said as he pick up some more, most of which were broken. Serana's eyes widened. What had the power to throw a person into a tree hard enough to break a sheath of bolts? Serana could only pray to the gods that she was ok.
Isran looked around. "What could have done this?" He asked as he rubbed his chin.
"Monsters!" They both turned to see a guard walking towards them. "Been tracking them for months now!" He said as Serana pulled her hood further over her face to hide her eyes from the man. "A group tried to bring a beast down last night... Turns out there is more than one monster." The guard shook his head sadly. "Barely any survivors." He sighed.
"Do you know where we can find them? We can help." Serana said quickly.
"Yes, the companions, they can be found in Whiterun... at least what is left of them... After last night only a small handful remain." He said with a nod.
"Thank you!" Serana said before she began to make her way to Whiterun.
"She likes to help." Isran said to the guard before he followed Serana.
"Be careful!" The guard called after them.
Serana clutched Skylars bolt for dear life, praying that she was alright, she knew something was wrong! Why didn't she listen to her gut the moment she felt it!?
She was cursing herself in her head the entire trip to Whiterun. "Just a heads up Vampire." Isran spoke up before they entered the city. Serana turned to look at him. "There is a rumor... That is not so much a rumor that the companions are all werewolves... " He said hinting to her that they might not be as friendly towards her as Skylar was. "Watch your back." He said with a nod before he lead the way. Serana followed him as she slipped Skylar's bolt into her pack, they didn't want it to look like she was going to stab anyone. No one inside will know she was a vampire... Other than the wolves who could smell her from a mile away.
Skylar Growled as she forced herself to keep her arms firmly pressed against the bed. "Itchy..." She said through clenched teeth.
Dash gazed over towards her. "Don't you even think about it, you scratch even once, I'm pretty sure your will reopen the first wound you touch!" He said as he jumped to his feet and made his way to her side.
"I'm trying..." Skylar whimpered as a wave of pain made her close her eyes.
"Looks like whatever they gave you for the pain has just worn off." Dash muttered as he looked around. "Want me to go find Aela?" He said as he rung his hands together. All Skylar could do was nod at that point. The pain was far too intense she didn't doubt that blacking out was not far away.
She opened her eyes to see Aela making her way into the room with a cup that she quickly brought to Skylar's lips. "I suppose I should keep some ready for when you need more?" Aela asked when she was finished helping Skylar.
"Would be a good idea." Skylar said though clenched teeth. Aela nodded.
Skylar looked over to see Dash looking proud of himself. "You just like being able to talk to more than one person." Skylar chuckled at him.
He shrugged. "Do you know how long it has been since I have been able to?" He said with a smile. Skylar rolled her eyes but then remembered the soul plains. She opened her mouth to speak but decided not too. She figured that he didn't want to bring that up because it would remind her of Serana... Which she had just done herself. Great...
"Now try and get some sleep, no scratching and..." Aela stopped talking as she turned her head.
"What's wrong?" Dash asked her as he tilted his head to the side slightly. Aela sniffed the air and looked down at Skylar. She realized that Skylar's senses were probably not working as effectively at the moment because with how badly damaged her body was so she just shrugged instead.
"I just remembered something." Aela muttered not wanting to worry Skylar.
Aela could smell a vampire, and after what Skylar told her about Harkon escaping she was not about to take any risks. And on top of that she knew without the little pup telling her that her vampire had been the one that broke her heart... So right now... No vampire was going to get near her without a good reason... At least that is what she thought.
Aela exited Skylar's room leaving Skylar and Dash alone.
"So..." Dash began. "Feeling better." He asked.
"Hasn't kicked in yet." Skylar muttered as she turned her head back towards the window to look outside. "I'm going to be like this for months aren't I?" She asked Dash.
Dash sighed. "Aela told me it took her a long time as well... And her's was mostly just her back... You're... Well, You're all over. Stomach, legs and back. May take a bit of time." Dash said truthfully.
"That's what I'm afraid of." Skylar muttered. "I hate being out of commission." She said with a pout.
She tried to ignore a wave of pain that began to throb all over her body but eventually found herself clenching her teeth, taking deep breaths, and digger her nails into the palms of her hands hard enough to draw blood. All Dash could do was sit there, nothing could be done. They simply had to wait for the potion to take effect.
"What are you doing here?" Aela said as she stopped two people from walking up the steps to the Comanion HQ. One was a hooded woman while the other was an older man. Aela could already guess that the hooded woman was a vampire. "Speak, why has a leech strayed so far into our part of the land." Aela said in a strong voice. She didn't want to say the word vampire in case she drew unwanted attention.
"Where is Skylar?" Isran spoke.
"Safe, away from you." Aela said.
Serana twitched but remained silent. She didn't want to push her luck... This woman could take her to Skylar... Or rip her to shreds, she knew what she was.
Isran shook his head. "I am the leader of the Dawnguard, a friend of Skylar's, we fought side by side." He explained. "She went missing a few days ago, we just want to see for ourselves that she is ok." Aela's lip twitched. Because of her she was not.
Serana didn't miss the twitch, something was wrong. "She's hurt isn't she?" Serana said trying to keep herself calm.
Aela turned towards her. "She was already wounded emotionally when she arrived, I can already guess that the reason was you." Aela said as she dodged Serana's question.
"What?" Serana asked confused. But then she remembered the night She had pushed Skylar away. Had Skylar taken it that bad. Serana felt guilt weigh down upon her shoulders. "Please, Let me see her." Serana begged.
Aela flicked her wrist. "You have no business here, begone." She said when she saw the twins and Skjor making their way towards them.
"What's going on?" Farkas was the first to speak. But then his eyes widened when he realized what Serana was. "Oh..." He didn't know what to make of it. Neither did Vilkas.
"A leech?" Skjor couldn't help but to talk.
Isran looked at Skjor who looked right back at him. "I know you." Skjor murmured.
"Indeed you do." Isran said with a quick nod. "You tried to recruit me years ago." Isran answered.
Skjor nodded slowly. "The offer still stands. "We need all the help we can get." Skjor's words made Aela's jaw drop.
"As do we my old friend." Isran said as he took his hand and gave it a quick shake.
"We came looking for Skylar, but your friend's refuses to let us see a fellow soldier." Isran spoke to Skjor, ignoring all of Aela's dark glares. Skjor looked at Serana with a brow arched.
"Don't worry, she's a friend, trust me." Isran said with a nod.
Skjor thought for a moment before he sighed.
"Very well, you may go see her..." He said as he began to make his way up the steps to the Companion HQ. "Just... Don't let her overdo it..." He muttered.
"Why what's wrong?" Serana spoke up.
"You will see." He said gently. That was definitely something that Serana did not want to hear at all.
Skylar was still waiting for her potion to kick in when she heard a faint knock on the door. She blinked a couple of times. Aela usually just walked right in. She didn't have the energy to call out so she sighed and took a breath before she spoke. "It's open." She muttered.
Seconds later the door was open with a familiar face standing in the doorway. Skylar's heart almost instantly broke again.
"Skylar..." Serana spoke as she shut the door behind her.
Dash jumped off the dresser as he looked at Skylar. "Do you want me to stay, blink one if yes twice if no." He said quickly. He shifted his weight from one foot to the other in an uncomfortable motion.
Skylar blinked once and with that he walked straight through the door, but Skylar did not doubt for a second that he went too far, in fact she expected him to be listening on the other side of the door.
Skylar was thankful that her body was covered by a blanket, she didn't want Serana to see how weak she was.
"Skyar." She spoke again as she walked over and sat on the edge of the bed. The movement of the mattress made Skylar's breath hitch. Oh dear god, why is it taking so long for that potion to kick in!?' Skylar screamed in her mind as Serana's brow furrowed.
"Whats wrong...?" She asked as she went to move a strand of hair out of Skylar's face, only to be hurt by Skylar flinching away. "Listen Skylar I'm sorry I pushed you away!" Serana said as she pulled her hand away from Skylar in fear of scaring the girl away.
Serana felt overwhelmed something was very wrong. She could smell blood, the entire room reeked of it, She could see that Skylar was in an intense amount of pain, and now Skylar won't talk to her or let her so much as touch her. "Please just say something." Serana begged.
Skylar looked away as her brows furrowed. "Where's Valt?" She suddenly asked in a raspy voice.
Serana's brow furrowed. "Valt? What about him?" She asked suddenly scared to hear what Skylar had to say.
"I saw you two." Skylar spat turning to look at Serana with hurt fresh in her eyes.
Now things began to make sense to Serana. "Skylar, there is nothing between Valt and I." Serana said firmly as she knelt beside the bed so that she was not standing over the poor girl.
But Skylar shook her head. "Then why did you kiss him?" She asked refusing to look Serana in the eye.
"I promise you that I didn't kiss him, he kissed me! I didn't want to..." Serana explained. "He caught me off guard, I had no idea that he was planning on doing that." Serana said.
Skylar's face grew gentle. "So... There's absolutely nothing between you two?" She asked quietly. Serana nodded but stopped and looked at Skylar. "Is there?" Skylar repeated.
Serana took a breath before she grabbed Skylar's hands before the wounded werewolf had time to pull away. Skylar looked at her with a brow furrowed. "Skylar... Do you want to her a bit of a story...?" She asked her. Skylar turned her head to the side but never once took her eyes off the vampire.
"What has that got to do with anything?" Skylar asked her.
"It will help you understand." Serana said gently.
Skylar took a breath and sighed as she looked around the room. Eventually she found herself look out the window at a bird that was sitting in a tree. Serana watched her for a few moments. She was losing her and she could feel it.
"Skylar." She said as she squeezed the girl's hands. "I promise you, there is nothing between him and I." Serana whispered.
Skylar finally tore her gaze away from the window and looked up at Serana who was looking down at her with gentle eyes and nodded. "Ok." She whispered. Serana smiled gently. "I trust you." Skylar added as her head began to spin. She was thankful that she was lying down, if not she would probably end of flat on her face.
Serana sighed in relief as she still held Skylar's hands. "Before I was locked in that stone casket only gods know for how long ago... My father had a plan set out for me." She began as she rubbed her thumbs over Skylar's knuckles. Skylar's brow furrowed, what was Serana about to tell her, all she could do was lay there and listen.
"His plan was for me to rule with him as his pawn, while he threw out the orders I was to be the face that the people saw." Serana continued. "I was for show, meant to be seen and not heard from. And so that was how it was for a long time." Serana said. "And then things began to fall apart even more, my father went even more crooked, my mother hungry to see him fall and just everything altogether. Nothing was good, always bad. Well one day my father was approached by a man." She said as she looked down at Skylar.
Serana took a breath and tilted her head to the side as she continued. "That man was Valt, a prince, human at the time, he gave my father all of his fortune, his army, everything, in exchange my father was to make him a vampire, and so he did." Serana as she continued to run her thumbs over Skylar's knuckles. "After Valt was made into a Vampire he became good friends with my father... Soon another idea popped into my father's head... I was to marry Valt." As Serana's words processed Skylar's brow furrowed. "Against my will." Serana added firmly. Skylar wanted to speak but forced herself to remain silent as Serana told her story. "That was around the time my mother decided to hide me from him, along with the scroll... And that was it, before I was locked away I had only seen Valt once, and that was when he was still human." Serana said with a nod.
Skylar thought for a moment. "Your father... Tried to give you away like you were an object?" Skylar rasped.
Serana nodded. "Yes, but it didn't work, I was gone before he could. And it seems Valt still has it in his head that I should be his, which I am not, and never will be." Serana said firmly.
Serana leaned in a little closer to Skylar. "There is only one who I belong to." Serana said quietly.
Skylar could feel her heart speed up, her face flushed. She felt Serana's thumbs continue to rub her knuckles. "And whose that?" Skylar whispered.
Serana smiled and gently pressed her forehead against Skylar's. "You." She answered before she pressed her lips to Skylar's. It was short and sweet.
Serana moved her hand away from Skylar's knuckle and placed it on her abdomen. The moment her hand made contact Skylar instantly flinched and hissed in pain. Serana, not knowing what was wrong instantly moved away.
"Skylar? What is it?" She asked quickly as she looked around. Skylar took multiple deep breaths to try and control the pain. 'What the hell, what happen to the potion supposed to help!?' She screamed in her mind as she dug her nails into her palms.
Serana placed her hand on Skylar's as the wave of pain passed. When Skylar finally calmed down Serana looked at her with a concerned expression. "Skylar, what is it?" She asked. Skylar took a breath as Serana began to search for injury.
"Promise to stay calm ok." Skylar whispered. But Serana's brow furrowed. "I have a little story of my own." Skylar said biting her lower lip.
Serana ran her hands over her face. "Does it have something to do with the slaughter not too far from here?" Serana guessed as she looked at Skylar who flinched at the memories of the battle ground. Skylar nodded and looked out the window for a moment before she struggled to sit up. Serana assisted her carefully.
"Don't freak out." Skylar begged as she held the blanket over her bandaged body. Serana's brow furrowed when her eye caught a small piece of bandage that was around her shoulder but disappeared beneath the blanket.
She had thought it was just part of the blanket... But now she had an idea as to what Skylar was hiding from her.
"Skylar..." Serana said as she reached for the blanket.
But Skylar shook her head. "Promise me you won't freak out." Skylar said trying to stall for as long as possible, she didn't want to show Serana just how badly she had been hurt. She didn't want to see her worry, especially not for her.
Serana took a breath and nodded. "Ok..." Skylar muttered as she slowly let the blanket set on her lap. Her chest was wrapped up in bandages, keeping her breasts covered and to keep the bandages that cover her back secure... But Serana could see the blood seeping though the material. She covered her mouth with her hands as she looked at the bandages that kept Skylar's abdomen covered, before she moved to look at her back.
"Gods..." Serana whispered as her eyes filled with tears. "But you heal fast right? You're going to be better by tomorrow right?" Serana said trying to find something good. But Skylar shook her head.
"The creature that did this... We believe is made to kill werewolves... I am going to heal as fast as a normal human... I'm going to be down for months..." Skylar muttered quietly.
"How much more is there?" Serana pressed. Skylar didn't want to tell her, at first she thought that maybe she could get away with lying... But then she realized that Serana could read her like a book.
Skylar sighed and looked away. "I almost lost my leg... Its broke in three places... I might have a bit of a limp for about a year... Maybe longer..." She muttered. "Four ribs are broke, and I apparently have a concussion." Skylar muttered as she slowly looked up at Serana.
Serana shook her head and stood. "I should have been there!" She said firmly. "No I should have never let you leave the castle without me! If I hadn't pushed you away you would have never gone to the companions and this would have never have happened!" Serana cried.
"Serana..." Skylar said as she reached for her. "Please stop."
Serana looked down at Skylar. So very weak, so very broken, and so very tired. Serana's heart broke. "I'm sorry..." Was the last thing she said before she sat back down on the edge of the bed beside Skylar.
"Don't be." Skylar muttered. "I was the one who ran off." Skylar muttered. "But what is done is done, we did however find out what exactly the creature is." Skylar said trying to find a bright side.
"And what is it?" Serana asked. "A werebear." Skylar murmured, not like it was a good thing.
Skylar could feel her eyes begin to droop, finally the potion was starting to take effect.
"Skylar?" Serana asked when she noticed the girl begin to sway.
"I think the potion for the pain is finally affecting me..." Skylar slurred.
Serana helped Skylar lay back down but Skylar did not let her step away. Skylar somehow was able to keep a firm grip on Serana's hand.
"Don't go..." Skylar whimpered. Serana knelt down so that she was looking Skylar in the eye.
"I will stay here with you." Serana whispered. "I will be here when you wake up." She said as she brushed a strand of hair out of Skylar's face. Skylar smiled slightly before she finally fell into a drug induced unconscious state.