Serana sat idly on a chair in the main hall of Castle Volkihar, one leg crossed over the other as her fingers drummed on the wooden table before her. Around her vampires were all feasting, celebrating her return as she sat at the side of her father. They were all revelling in the occasion as thralls continued to bring them more food and blood.

One of the vampires had charmed a thrall to dance in the middle of the hall, acting more like a jester as they essentially flailed about. All the vampires laughed, even Harkon let out a small chuckle. Serana was the only one who didn't find any joy in it.

Shortly after the warrior who'd escorted her back to the castle had fled, she'd discovered that dragons were roaming around Skyrim once more. Not only that, but since the dragons had returned it meant the return of the Dragonborn, a human with the blood of a dragon who's not only able to slay the beasts, but is also able to absorb their powers and their very souls.

It all sounded like a fairy-tale to Serana, but she couldn't deny what she saw. The fire that the warrior had summoned was equal to, if not greater than a master-level destruction mage. Not only that, but the force in his voice was almost terrifying. A part of her was worried. Someone that strong was easily a threat to any vampire, even before taking into consideration the Daedric artefact that he held.

She also wondered why he didn't use his power in the crypts when fighting off the draugr and gargoyles.

"Daughter?" asked Harkon, the man looking over at Serana.

"Oh, sorry father. What did you say?" replied Serana.

"You seem rather distracted."

"I'm just… tired, I think. I'm sure my body is still adjusting to being awake again. Plus, that was the first meal I've had in a few hundred years."

Harkon nodded to himself. "Rest if you need to daughter, I am simply glad to see you back among us."

Serana would've liked to believe that. After she had sated her thirst, a thrall offering himself in an attempt to please Lord Harkon, her strength had returned almost immediately. It felt good, she couldn't deny that. With her strength back she made sparks of lightning crackle around her fingers as she flexed the magicka in her body over and over without releasing it, causing her skin to tingle and crawl in a strangely satisfying way. While entertaining for a moment she couldn't ignore the frustration she already felt at being back inside the castle under direct supervision.

She could feel Harkon's eyes on her constantly and despite her age she felt like a child once more, trapped under an adult's care. The scroll had been immediately taken from her after things settled down and Harkon handled it with as much care as a father would handle their newborn child. She almost felt jealous of the damn thing, and after realising that she was disgusted with herself.

I need to get out of here, she thought.

Good lord, this man works fast, Arven thought as he approached Fort Dawnguard once more. When he left the fort was manned, but dirty. It needed some serious work. Now the fortifications had been built. A palisade had been constructed before the fort and as he approached Arven had to identify himself to two guards stationed with crossbows. They didn't know his name, but showing them Dawnbreaker and casting a restoration spell had been proof enough that he wasn't undead.

Past the wall men and women were training, sparring with swords and practising their aim on targets set up around the place. Some proper stables had even been built. The sheer change in such a short time astounded Arven. It had only been just over a week since he left, departing straight for the crypt before taking Serana home. The trip back was the long part, travelling by carriage throughout the entire province of Skyrim. During the endless hours he'd let restoration magic slowly burn through his magicka every day and as a result all the aches and pains he'd suffered had now vanished, leaving him fully rejuvenated.

While his body was in perfect shape, his mind was a mess.

Why the hell did I help bring her home?

No matter how he thought about it, none of it made sense. He had an incredibly powerful vampire lord with an Elder Scroll in the weakest, most vulnerable position they'd ever be in. He could've driven Dawnbreaker through her heart, taken the scroll and retreated back to Fort Dawnguard with his pride intact and the upper hand over the damned beasts. Instead he decided to go on a field trip with one of the most dangerous beings in all of Skyrim, and he'd almost gotten himself killed for his efforts.

Maybe Isran can make some sense of this, he thought.

"You did what?!" yelled Isran, his voice booming through the stone halls of Fort Dawnguard. Various soldiers scattered away from his general direction after he spoke. Even Arven flinched.

"Like I said, I- "

"I know what you said, I just didn't think you to be a damned fool!" Isran bellowed. He held his head in his hand, muttering to himself as he thought over the brief summary Arven had given him.

"Look, I'm just as frustrated as you are! Every time I look back, I just think I should've driven my sword through its heart, but I didn't and I have no idea why."

"It's because she seduced you, boy." Isran said. He was almost remorseful in his tone.

"What? No, that's impossible," Arven replied, shaking his head.

"Is it?"

"Yes, it is! I've trained to resist that kind of thing; I've got wards against it! I know how vampires work and I've done everything I can think of to make myself immune."

"Come on boy, you're smarter than this."

Arven paused. "What do you mean?"

"You've trained against basic vampires. Fledglings, diseased weaklings who hide in caves and hunt in packs. Beasts who are nothing more than slaves to the blood. Dangerous, but mostly stupid," Isran said. As he spoke, Arven was silent.

"You said her father was different. Stronger. How?"

"He could, well… transform."

"What?"

"He turned into something… I don't know what exactly. His skin turned grey, he had a demonic, bat-like face and he grew a pair of wings. I don't know how strong he was, but after he turned, I could feel his power in the air. All the other vampires looked as terrified as I was," said Arven. It wasn't the most pleasant memory to recall.

Isran let out a long, tired sigh and sat down on a crate nearby. He ran his hands over his head and looked up, through the opening in the roof of the fort where the sun shone through. "This isn't good."

"You're telling me," Arven replied.

"That's a Vampire Lord. From what I know, most vampires are born through the spread of a disease. A plague. Vampire Lords are created by Molag Bal himself," Isran said.

"For some reason that doesn't surprise me. So what, people can just go to a Daedric lord and ask to become that thing?"

"I don't know the specifics; don't think I want to know. But they're ancient and they're strong. Did you know old this woman was?"

Arven shrugged. "She was around before the empire, at least."

"Shit. Alright, think about it for a second. You're what, 20?"

"22."

"Right. She's probably lived your life 50 times over, getting stronger the entire time. Do you really think some wards and a bit of training will make you immune to her magics?"

Arven started to grind his teeth. He knew Isran was right, he just didn't want to admit it. The idea that he was tricked, that he was used by Serana infuriated him. It made him hate her more than he already did.

"Dammit. Gods, DAMMIT!" Lashing out, Arven kicked the closest thing to him. A bucket ended up flying across the room, shattering against the wall into a thousand different splinters. Above all else, he was incredibly disappointed in himself.

"Don't be so hard on yourself boy, no one would've been able to resist a vampire that strong. It's a damn miracle you're still alive at all," Isran said.

"So, now what. What do we do? They've got a fucking Elder Scroll."

Isran stood up, cracking various joints as he stretched. "We just going to need some help. And I need to teach you some proper restoration magic."

A few days later, Arven found himself travelling back to Fort Dawnguard with two new additions. The first was a hunter by the name of Gunmar, a Nord who lost his family to vampires and claims to hate them almost as much as Isran does. Arven found him easy enough to get along with, and tales of previous vampire-slaying events made the travelling much easier on them both.

The second was a Breton by the name of Sorine. At first Arven thought she was fairly cute, but that opinion was overwhelmed by the fact that she was rather… quirky. She was kind though, and more than happy to come along after Arven spent all of 10 seconds finding a satchel she had supposedly lost to some mudcrabs. Arven still didn't know how that worked, exactly.

"So, do you think Isran will be happy to see us?" asked Sorine as the trio entered Dayspring Pass.

"Happy? Hah!" Gunmar let out a bark of a laugh as he shook his head. "No chance. I'd bet you 20 septims the first thing he does is yell at us and demand we prove that we aren't vampires."

Arven had to agree with Gunmar, but he felt a little bad as Sorine's expression soured.

"Surely he'd be at least a little happy. At the very least he'd better apologise for the things he said to me when I last saw him!" Sorine said.

"The day Isran apologises is the day I become a vampire sympathiser," replied Gunmar.

Arven chuckled softly at that. By the time the walls of Fort Dawnguard had come into view the sun had set and moonlight was illuminating the pass. Despite the hour men still guarded the palisade walls, torches alight throughout the canyon to provide as much light and visibility as possible on the approach up towards the fort.

Every time Arven approached the fort, he couldn't help but be impressed by the sheer scale of it. He was surprised that such a large structure was abandoned for so long. Surely bandits, or at least someone would've squatted there, he thought.

Approaching the palisade, the trio came up behind a group of 5 travellers, all rugged up in warm clothing and hoods as they argued with the men on the walls.

"Please, you have to let us in!" One of them called, a woman at the head of the group.

"We're sorry. You can camp out here but we cannot let you in until the sun rises," one of the guards said. Arven rolled his eyes, realising that Isran probably made that rule to try and stop vampires from trying to get in at night. The man was cautious, if nothing else.

"But we're tired, and starved! Our caravan got attacked by vampires, please, we just want a warm place to stay for the night," said another member of the group.

"Should we just let them in?" Sorine asked in a whisper, looking to both Arven and Gunmar. She seemed worried about the group, and rightfully so. Their clothing was ragged and damaged, and one of the travellers was limping heavily to one side.

"Isran will kill you if you do," Gunmar replied, although his voice sounded sympathetic.

"If Isran is worried that they're vampires, I'll just heal them. That should be proof enough," Arven said to the two behind him.

"Good idea! I wonder why Isran doesn't do that," Sorine replied.

"Probably doesn't have any priests. They're all too busy cleaning up after the war," said Gunmar. He was right, any skilled healer had been poached long ago to help the Imperials with their clean-up efforts after the civil war had ended.

Having decided Arven stepped forward, taking off his helmet to appear slightly less threatening. "Friends, I can help. I- "

As soon as the travellers turned around, Arven's stomach turned. When they all stared at him he felt a shiver run down his spine as they all seemed different. Wrong. On instinct Arven focused on the amulet around his neck, trying to clear his mind as the amulet's warding magic removed the illusion of the travellers. All their eyes were a glowing, deep red in the light of the moon.

Upon seeing Arven, they all reacted in an instant. "That's him!" One of them hissed, and all of them charged.

"Vampires!" Arven yelled at the top of his lungs as he drew his sword just in time. The first vampire had flung himself at the Dragonborn after drawing out a dagger from his robe, mouth open and teeth bared. Taking half a step back Arven planted his feet and drew Dawnbreaker from its sheath to slash at the vampire in a diagonal sweep. The blade sliced through and seared vampire flesh, severing the top half of its torso from the rest of its body as the beast ended up lying on the floor behind Arven in two halves.

Even with one down, he still had four charging at him with murder in their eyes. The men on the palisade were stunned for a moment before reacting, loading their crossbows while their hands fumbled awkwardly with the mechanisms. Thankfully, Sorine and Gunmar were quicker to react. Sorine had taken her own crossbow, a unique invention with various modifications, off of her back. While she seemed aloof, she was almost as prepared and paranoid as Isran at times with her crossbow being continually loaded and ready to fire.

In one quick motion she'd aimed and fired her crossbow, a bolt slamming into the ribs of one of the vampires charging. The beast faltered and fell to the floor, supporting itself on one hand as it gasped from shock.

Just as Sorine was quick, so was Gunmar. The Nord unsheathed his axe and swung it at another vampire, slamming it down through the collarbone of the one closest to him. The vampire screamed out in pain but quickly caught onto Gunmar's hand, wrestling with the man despite the serious wound.

With two occupied Arven was left with two more charging at him. It was only a second after he'd killed the first that the next was on him, and he wasn't prepared. As the Dragonborn raised an arm to ward it off the first vampire latched on, teeth sinking into the leather padding. Arven felt the fangs sink into his flesh as the warmth of his blood was sucked out shortly after. He went to bring the pommel of his sword down on the head of the woman sucking on his blood, but the second vampire slashed at him with an elven blade.

Tilting Dawnbreaker to the side he parried the blade coming at his exposed face, raising a leg to kick the second vampire in the chest. After knocking it away Arven then went to bash the face of the one that had latched onto him, but was stopped as he felt something sink into his ribs. Letting out a scream through clenched teeth as the vampire that was sucking on his blood jammed a dagger up into his torso, the Dragonborn took half a step back while shaking his arm in a feeble attempt to shake the damned thing loose.

By now the men on the palisade walls had prepared their crossbows and both took aim. One of the bolts missed but the other, thankfully, slammed into the back of the vampire that had a grip on Arven. As it shrieked in response Arven backhanded it with the hand of the arm that had been pierced before using Dawnbreaker to parry another blow from the sword of the other attacker.

"Alright, fuck you both," Arven said under his breath. Crouching down with his blade raised, his other hand grasping onto the hilt of the dagger still sticking out of his ribs, he then clenched every muscle in his body.

"Wuld!"

A blink on an eye later Arven had dashed forward, now standing in between both vampires. Each of them now had a blade protruding from their chest. The one who'd been struck by Dawnbreaker fell to the floor as his flesh burned, while the one with a dagger now sticking from its sternum turned with a rage-fuelled shriek and lashed out at Arven once more.

In response, the Dragonborn punched the vampire in the face. With a satisfying crunch his gauntlet-covered hand broke bones in the beast's face and after knocking it onto it's back, Arven crouched down above it and placed his hand on the forehead of the vampire. Then, channelling healing magic into his palm the restoration magic burnt the skin of the undead, leaving it in horrific pain for the few seconds before it died, its eyes having burnt out as Arven put more and more magicka into the spell.

Standing up, Arven was relieved to see that both Gunmar and Sorine were fine, each with another corpse by their feet. Neither of them seemed to notice his shout just before, which was a relief.

"Are you three alright!?" Called a voice from the palisade.

"I just got fucking stabbed and bitten," replied Arven.

There was silence for a moment after that.

"So, no?" came the reply from the guard.

Arven just sighed. Drawing Dawnbreaker from the corpse it was buried in, he sheathed it and placed his hand on the wound in his ribs. Shortly after a soft golden glow emanated form his hand, and he let out a sigh of relief as the flesh began stitching itself back together.

"Are you okay, friend?" Asked Sorine as she stepped up beside Arven, a clearly worried look on her face.

"Don't worry, I'm fine. I could just use a hot meal, now," Arven said. He then received a clap on the shoulder from Gunmar.

"That was pretty damned impressive, you know. I can see why Isran keeps you around!" Said the Nord.

"You call getting stabbed and bitten impressive?"

"I call only getting stabbed and bitten after killing three vampires impressive, yes!"

Arven let out a soft chuckle before stepping up to the gates.

"If you don't let us in, I'm going to bloody kill you," he called up to the guards.

A few minutes later, with his armour being tended to by some other Dawnguard members and with bandages wrapped around his ribs, Arven stepped back into the fort followed by Sorine and Gunmar.

"Hold it right there," said Isran as he looked down on the trio, standing up on a ledge on the floor above them.

"What are you doing, Isran?" Asked Sorine.

"Making sure you're not vampires. Can't be too careful."

Sorine and Gunmar sighed, but complied. They seemed as if they were used to this sort of thing. Gunmar leaned over to Sorine, whispering in her ear. "You owe me 20 septims."

After a cleansing light had bathed over the three standing on the bottom floor, Isran let out a satisfied grunt.

"So, welcome to Fort Dawnguard. I'm sure you've heard a bit of what we're up against. Powerful vampires, unlike anything we've seen before. And they have an Elder Scroll." Isran said.

"They have a what?" asked Gunmar, a shocked look on his face.

"What, our friend didn't tell you?" Isran replied.

Arven just shrugged. "Didn't need to, just mentioned vampires," he said.

"Well, yes. They have an Elder Scroll," Isran continued. "So if anyone is going to stand in their way, it's going to be us."

"This is all well and good, but do we actually know anything about what they're doing? What do we do now?" Sorine asked.

"We'll get to that. For now, get acquainted with the space. Sorine, you'll find room to start your tinkering on that crossbow design you've been working on. Gunmar, there's an area large enough for you to pen up some trolls, get them armoured up and ready for use."

Armoured what now?

Arven shook his head, clearing the thoughts of riding into battle with an army of trolls at his side. He noticed Isran was staring right at him.

"In the meantime, we're going to get to the bottom of why a vampire showed up here looking for you. Let's go have a little chat with it, shall we?"

Arven's blood boiled.

Oh, she's going to regret this.

The second Arven saw Serana he drew Dawnbreaker from its sheath, ignoring the pain in his side as he levelled the blade directly at her face.

"Woah, okay. Does every meeting we have need to start with you shoving your sword in my face?" Serana asked, her hands raised up by her head as if surrendering.

"You tricked me."

"Say what now?"

"You seduced me. Tricked me into taking you back to your home, and you almost got me killed," Arven said, his words coming out through gritted teeth.

"I just calmed you down so you didn't stab me, that's all! And I didn't mean for that to happen back home, okay? I thought father would let you leave peacefully, I promise." As she spoke, Serana looked Arven directly in the eyes. Her face seemed sincere, but he knew better than to trust her.

"And how do I know you're not trying to cloud my mind right this second?"

"She can't trick you while she's in here, boy." Isran said, breaking Serana and Arven out of their private conversation.

"What?" Arven replied.

"This place is enchanted. This thing can probably feel it right now. Fort Dawnguard was built for a specific purpose, in more ways than one." Isran continued.

"He's right," Serana said. "This place is really uncomfortable for me. And not just because of the beautiful décor. Can we just talk, without your sword in my face?"

Arven hesitated, but eventually he let his sword down. He still wasn't comfortable with Serana's presence by a long shot, but he also had to understand that she took an immense risk by visiting him.

Can't hurt to hear her out, then, he thought.

"Wait, what happened to you?" Serana asked as she looked over Arven's torso, the bandages covering most of his otherwise bare upper body.

"You weren't the only vampire to come here tonight," Arven replied.

"Wait, really?" Serana asked. She seemed genuinely shocked. "What were they doing there?"

"If I had to take a guess, probably looking for that." Isran said, pointing at the Elder Scroll that was sitting on Serana's back. Arven hadn't even noticed that yet. He was too fixated on trying to calm himself.

Serana cursed under her breath. She didn't acknowledge Isran, instead continuing to look at Arven. "Look, I'm sorry for putting you in danger… again. I just really need to talk to you."

"Well, we're talking. What are you doing here?" Arven asked.

As the two talked Isran stood off to one side. He sat down on a crate after drawing his huge, two-handed hammer. The head of the hammer came to rest on the ground, an intricately carved piece of silver that let out a soft glow in the same manner that Dawnbreaker's blade did, just to a lesser extent.

"I'd rather not be here, but this is important, so please just listen before your friend, here, loses his patience," Serana said. Her face looked serious, and even a little bit desperate.

She's a hell of an actor, Arven thought.

"It's… well, it's about me. And the Elder Scroll that was buried with me."

"What about you?"

"The reason I was down there… and why I had the Elder Scroll. It all comes back to my father."

"Nice guy, really." Arven said. A soft, small smile came to Serana's lips after he said that.

"Yeah, he's not exactly a good person. Even by vampire standards. He wasn't always like that, though. There was… a turn. He stumbled onto this obscure prophecy and just kind of lost himself in it." Serana said. As she spoke, she folded her arms across her torso, almost hugging herself.

"What sort of prophecy?" Arven asked.

"It's pointless and vague, like all prophecies. The part he latched onto said that vampires would no longer need to fear the sun. That's what he's after. He wants to control the sun, have vampires control the world."

Arven and Isran shared a look, both of them feeling somewhat disturbed by the idea of the sun no longer being a threat to vampires.

Serana continued. "Anyway, my mother and I didn't feel like inviting a war with all of Tamriel, so we tried to stop him. That's why I was sealed away with the Scroll."

Arven sighed, running a hand through his hair. "You took a serious risk coming here, just to tell us this," he said.

"I did. But something about you makes me think I can trust you. I hope I'm not wrong." Serana said. She looked hopeful as she said that, and Arven just felt dumbfounded.

"You know I'm a vampire hunter, right? I kill vampires. It's what I do." Arven said. "I'm pretty damn good at it, as well."

"I'm aware."

"And I'm the person you trust the most to come to for help?" Arven asked. This all sounded incredibly ridiculous to him. He almost felt like laughing.

Serana didn't say anything in response, simply looking down at the floor between them as she nodded.

"Wait… seriously?" Arven said.

"Yeah," Serana replied.

The Dragonborn felt a soft pang in his heart.

"You know I can't trust you. You're a vampire."

"Oh, come on, I'm more than just a vampire, you know!" Serana said, her voice rising slightly in anger. She took a step towards Arven and he immediately flinched, taking an equal step back as his hand tightened around Dawnbreaker.

"I risked my life coming here because I need your help to stop my crazy father from trying to enslave the rest of the world," Serana continued. "If I was trying to trick you, or fool you or anything else, why would I come here? I know you hate me but think about it for one fucking second! If I wasn't telling the truth there's absolutely zero reason for me to risk my ass by walking into this damn fort."

Arven closed his eyes. This is a fucking mess, he thought. The worst part of it all was that what Serana said made sense.

The Dragonborn looked over to Isran. The older warrior looked back, shaking his head.

"What do you think?" Arven asked.

"I don't know. Maybe it has a death wish, Maybe it's just insane. I don't really care," Isran replied.

"What she said makes sense, as much as I hate to admit it. If the vampires have a way to block out the sun, we're in a lot more trouble than we think."

Isran grumbled. "Are you saying you trust her?"

Serana looked at Arven, hopeful.

"No," he said. "But I believe what she just told us. She brought us the Scroll, that counts for something."

Serana let out a sigh, her shoulders slightly hunching over as a wave of relief washed over her.

"You better know what you're doing." Isran said.

"I ensure you that I don't."

"Remind me again why I let you join the Dawnguard?"

After watching the brief conversation, Serana interjected, her voice slightly more upbeat than before. "Does that mean you'll help me?" She asked.

"It can stay for now," Isran said to Arven. "If it so much as lays a finger on anyone here, I'll hold you responsible, got it?" He then turned to Serana. "You hear me? Don't feel like a guest, because you're not. You're a resource. You're an asset. In the meantime, don't make me regret my sudden outburst of tolerance and generosity because if you do, your friend here is going to pay for it."

Serana just smiled, folding her arms across her chest. "Thank you for your kindness, I'll remember it the next time I'm feeling hungry." As she said that she immediately regretted it, both men glaring at her. "Jeez, touchy."

She then turned back to Arven, her expression lightening just a little. "Well, since my father cared so much about this Scroll on my back, no doubt it has something that can help us."

"Is there a special vampire perk that lets you read those things?" Arven asked. "If not, I'm really not sure what we can do with it."

Serana shook her head. "No such luck. We'd need a Moth Priest, most likely. They spend years preparing before they even start reading, though, and they're all half a continent away in Cyrodiil."

Isran spoke up, the man leaning forward on his hammer. "Some Imperial scholar arrived in Skyrim a few days ago. I was staking out the road when I saw him pass by. Maybe that's your moth priest."

"Do you know where he's staying now?" Serana asked.

"No, and I'm not going to waste men looking. We're fighting a war against your kind, and I intend to win it." Isran then turned to Arven. "Why should I even endorse all of this? You're a good fighter. You've got an even better weapon. You should be out there killing these beasts, not running around the place with one."

"Trust me, I'd rather be out there as well," Arven said. "But… we can't ignore this. Someone needs to look into it."

"And what happens when this thing ends up killing you and leaving you in a ditch?" Isran demanded.

"Either way I'm out there fighting vampires, just as good of a chance that I end up dead whether I'm with her or not. This is more important than killing a few fledglings, as you called them."

Isran murmured to himself. He knew Arven was right, he just hated the idea of cooperating with a vampire.

"If you want to find this priest, try talking to anyone who'd meet a traveller. Innkeepers and carriage drivers in the big cities maybe. But you're on your own." After saying that Isran stood up, collecting his hammer and throwing it over his shoulder. He walked out of the room, leaving the two behind him without another glance.

"Don't die, boy."

After he left, an awkward silence fell over Serana and Arven. He felt frustrated, annoyed. Serana almost seemed hopeful.

"So…," she asked. "Where do you wanna start?"

Hey again! Hope you all enjoyed another chapter. Thanks again for reading through it so far, especially to anyone who's following or who has favourited the story, it means a lot!