Chapter 7: An old friend and parents.

"Your mother?" Talis asked. "Come to think of it, I didn't see her at Castle Volkihar. And since your father wants to put her head on a spike, I'm assuming they don't get along."

"Understatement of the Millennium." Serana said. "But, if we do find my mother, she can tell us where it is. If we're lucky enough, she might have it herself."

"Ok, but where is she?" Tymvir said.

"I don't know. When we last saw each other, she said she would go somewhere safe. Somewhere my father would never look." Serana said. "But I can't imagine where he wouldn't. Especially with all the time he had to do it."

"Well, it did take them 4000 years to find you." Talis said. "At the rate this is going, they aren't going to find your mother any time soon."

"You're probably right. Any idea where she could be?" Serana said.

The three stood in silence. 'If I wanted to escape my psychotic Vampire husband, where would I go?' Talis thought to herself. 'Sealed up like Serana? No, that wouldn't make any sense. Besides, who would seal her? Did she hide out with the original Dawnguard? No, that can't be it. Isran is gritting his teeth letting Serana stay. The Original Dawnguard would never allow a Vampire among them.' That's when it hit her. "Serana, what if she hid herself under Harkon's very nose; in Castle Volkihar?"

Serana placed her hand under her chin. "That makes sense. If there's one thing my father is, it's arrogant. He would never think to look for her in his own castle. There's a Courtyard where my mother kept a garden. All the herbs for out potions came from there. My father hated that place. Said it was to…peaceful."

"Alright, so it's back to Castle Volkihar. As it so happens, we can get the other scroll on the way there." Talis said.

"We can?" Serana asked. "You know where the second one is?"Said it was

"Yeah, because it's the Scroll I read." Talis said. She turned to Tymvir. "We leave immediately."

"Actually Talis, I'm staying behind this time." Tymvir said. Talis seemed surprised by this. "I want to look after Dexion. He doesn't seem well."

Talis nodded. "OK. We'll be fine." She walked up to Tymvir. She stood on her toes and gave his a quick kiss. "Take care of him."

Tymvir smiled. "Be careful out there."

The Throat of the World…

"So you left the Scroll with this old man named Paarthrunax?" Serana asked as they made the climb. They were nearing the Word Wall.

"Old, yes. Man, definitely not." Talis said. She turned to the Vampire. "Don't freak out about what you see." They continued onward. "Master Paarthurnax!" Talis called out. The two heard a roar from the very top of the mountain. The Old One flew down and landed in front of the two visitors.

"Drem Yol Lok, Dovahkiin Talis." Paarthrunax greeted his friend.

"Drem Yol Lok, In Paarthurnax (Master Paarthurnax)." Talis returned, speaking her second language.

"That's Paarthurnax?" Serana asked. Talis nodded. "What were you two saying?"

"It's a greeting between two Dragons. It means 'Peace, Fire, Sky.' That's how we always greet each other." Talis turned back to Paarthurnax. "In Paarthurnax, is the Elder Scroll I left with you still here?"

The eldest Dragon turned his head to his Word Wall. "The Kel is where you left it."

Talis looked over to the Wall and saw the Elder Scroll, miraculously not buried under the snow. She ran to it and picked it up.

Serana approached Paarthurnax. "Paarthurnax, may I ask you something?"

Paarthurnax took a look at Serana and looked at Talis. "Why did you bring one of Coldharbor's Daughters to me?"

Serana took a step back. "How did you know that? I get that you're very knowledgeable, and you could easily tell I'm a Vampire, but how did you know that fact?"

Talis stepped toward her friends. "Well, I don't know what a Daughter of Coldharbor is, but this is Serana. We're trying to stop her crazy father from enacting a prophecy involving the sun."

"Ah, the Tyranny of the Sun." Paarthurnax said.

"You know about it?" Talis asked.

"Of course. It is a Qostiid, a prophecy, involving the weapon of our father, Akatosh. Or as it is known, Auriel's Bow." Paarthurnax said.

Serana turned to Talis. "Our father?"

"He refers to Akatosh as my father because I'm Dragonborn. But I'm not the child of a god." Talis said to Serana.

Paarthurnax began to talk about his father's weapon. "Auriel's Bow draws its power from the sun. It can be used to either darken the sun, or rain light down upon the wielder's foes."

Serana took a few steps toward Paarthurnax. "Do you know where the bow is?"

"Alas, I don't." Paarthurnax answered.

"Well it was worth a shot." Serana said. "Thank you." She said to the Dragon.

"Yeah. Until next time, Wuth Mun (Old Man)." Talis turned to leave with Serana.

"Dovahkiin Talis, wait." Paarthurnax said. Talis and Serana turned back to the Dragon. "Am I correct in assuming Serana is Harkon's daughter?" Talis looked at Serana. She gave a nod. Talis then looked back at Paarthurnax. "A word of advice then: Your hokoran (enemy) may not be as powerful as Alduin was, but he is still not to be underestimated or trusted."

"I know. Thank you." Talis said as she waved. Paarthurnax took to the skies and landed on top of his Word Wall. As she began to descend with Serana, she looked at her. "You took that better than I thought you would."

"Well, considering what I grew up with, very few things can surprise me." Serana said.

Outside Northwatch keep…

Talis and Serana decided to rest at the Keep before heading to Castle Volkihar. Talis noticed some Stormcloak soldiers at post. "Hey guys!"

"Hey, it's Stormblade! Someone go tell Avulstein." One of the Stormcloaks said. The other one left his post and ran into the keep.

Serana looked at Talis. "How many titles do you have?"

"Let's see: Thane of Whiterun, Thane of Eastmarch, Former Harbinger of the Companions, Ysmir, Stormblade of the Stormcloaks, and of course Dovahkiin." Talis said.

Avulstein and Thorald walked out of the keep. "Talis, it's good to see you again." They gripped hands, and gave Thorald a hug.

Talis lifted her hand toward Serana. "This is Serana, a fellow member of the Dawnguard. We need to rest for a while before heading to Castle Volkihar."

They Gray-Mane brothers looked at each other. "Talis, correct us if we're wrong, but didn't you get thrown out unconscious from that place?"

"Yeah, but we need to get back." Talis said.

"Well, alright. You are the Stormblade." Throald said. He led them into the keep.

As they sat at their beds, Serana looked at Talis. "Say, can I ask you something?"

"What?" Talis asked back.

"What are your parents like?" Serana inquired.

"The proper question is 'what were my parents like?' They're dead." Talis corrected the Vampire.

"I'm sorry. I didn't…" Serana began.

"It's alright." Talis said. "My parents were good people. My father was a Legionnaire who fought in the Great War."

"The war between the Third Aldimeri Dominion and the Empire thirty years ago?" Serana asked.

"Been reading up since we were separated. Yes." Talis said. "My mother was a mercenary. They both loved to fight." Talis then told her the story she told Tymvir in Skuldafn. "My mother died due to illness. My father was murdered by the Thalmor."

Serana sat there in silence for a moment. "Well, at least you had a better relationship with your father then I do with mine."

"You want to talk about it?" Talis asked.

Serana looked at Talis. "Well, for one thing, I don't even think he sees me as his daughter anymore. I'm just…a means to an end. Even before we began to worship Molag Bal, we weren't as close as I was with my mother."

Talis' ears twitched at that last sentence. "Wait, what about Molag Bal?"

"That story is for another day." Serana said. "Anyway, my mother and I were really close when I was a child. She taught me the basics of Necromancy and Alchemy."

Talis nodded. "Mama was the one who first taught me how to shoot a Bow. Papa was the one who showed me how to use a Greatsword."

"Those were the good days. But I began to feel trapped when my parents began to fight. Then everything went even further downhill after we became Daedra worshipers." She looked at Talis, who was still confused about her worship. "Like I said, that's a story for another day."

"Ok. Goodnight." Talis said as she turned over in her bed to sleep.

The next morning, Talis stretched as she woke up. She looked over at Serana's bed. She was in the same posture she was when Talis found her. Serana herself then woke up. She looked over at Talis. "Morning."

"Good Morning." Talis said. "You ready?"

"I am." Serana said as she got up. She pulled up her hood and they left Northwatch Keep. They walked up to the boat. They got in and once again set out for the dark castle, prepared to face the enemies inside.