The dovahkiin slowly opened her eyes, a new orange color replaced the old forest green hue.
Bricks and dust, dim lighting and the familiar scent of blood filled her vision and her nose. The woman pushed herself up to sit and placed a hand to her head, she was a vampire. She agreed to Harkon's proposal, and she blacked out from his bite. Just as the elf was about to piece more information together she heard the familiar voice of her lord.
"I see you're finally awake, it took you less time to recover than most of the others." he said with an acknowledging nod.
Harkon approached the bosmer who'd decided to stand on shaking legs to face him, the man gave her a few moments to pull herself together before he spoke again"I am here to help you use your newfound powers, I did ask my daughter to do this but she refused- She seems a little weary of you becoming one of us"
Irina gave a firm nod "She's right to be suspicious, I wouldn't trust an outsider myself."
Harkon said something of Serana, a brief comment about her having trust issues.
Irina didn't pay his words any mind, her jaw felt foreign to her and her head throbbed in a mild pain. She licked the inside of her mouth and felt her fangs protude slightly more than her regular teeth. A bit different than her last time as a vampire, she didn't have this much... discomfort in the days that followed her transition.
Her head perked up when Harkon spoke again "try to transform into a vampire lord, the best way to describe this feeling is perhaps when you use you cast a spell- replicate the feeling of the magic concentrating into your palm to concentrating my magic into your body, more specifically your chest"
Irina nodded to her lord and closed her eyes to focus her magic. She'd never been good at spells in the first place, but she used the thu'um well enough. That magic was also concentrated into her chest, perhaps it was a similar feeling.
Irina felt something inside her stir, like a darkness clawing their way out of her soul. She dropped to her knees feeling herself grow dizzy and her world spinning. As she concentrated more magic into her chest she felt light as if the ground beneath her was but a thin barrier to somewhere else, this was not what she was expecting to feel.
It wasn't painful or anything horrific, but it wasn't as stable as her thu'um nor was it like any spell she'd ever attempted before. All the magic that concentrated within her body was expelled, but the vampire lord... it was like her vampirism tainted her magic and used that black energy to become one with the world.
Harkon smirked proudly to himself.
He watched the bosmer release a groan into the stone floor, the woman was on her knees with her head touching the stone. Her hands curled into tight fists and her forehead sweating, she looked exhausted already. His golden eyes watched her skin ooze blood from her pores, the blood covered her entire body like a new layer of skin.
Within a few seconds the blood became teal hardened skin that was her new vampire lord.
He wondered if she would have screamed at seeing her own transformation. The first time was always the slowest transformation, a performance, if you will.
She extended her arm and saw her turqouiuse skin, she couldn't speak but she felt magic coursing through her veins at a tremendous speed. Irina was never more in tune with magic before in her life, was this how it felt to be a prodigy at the arcane arts?
Her eyes went to Harkon who looked interested at her form. The nordic vampire leaned against a stone pillar "in this form while you are flying you have access to blood magic, that which is accessible within your right hand, in your left, you have the power to resurrect the dead if you so wish" he spoke as Irina raised her hands to her face noticing a peaceful blue magic on the left and a bright swirling red on the right.
Harkon added whimsically "and, before I forget, if you tread on ground you will lose the ability to use the magic. In this case, you'd be wise to use your claws" Irina gave a simple nod in response to this, she forced herself to place her bare feet upon the cold stone floor and the magic disappeared from her hands. She wondered why it was so. A question for Serana perhaps.
"As you continue to feast, you will have more abilities come to you naturally… I know you have the brains to not use this form in the public eye."
"That is all I have left to teach you, should you need to feed like the lesser vampires to ward off the sun we have thralls in the dungeon for such use; tread carefully, enjoy your new vampiric powers but never forget who gave them" his last statement would be remembered, but she was reveling in her new strength to think too deeply about it. The sound of his heels clicking against the stone was heard coming closer and closer to her before passing her all the same.
His presence was powerful even when she was in her vampire lord. She could only imagine what the man would be capable of in his vampire lord.
Irina extended her arm outwards and looked at her body.
She was a beast.
Nothing too different than what she already thought of herself, having the soul of a dragon and the tenacity of a nord made the bosmer question more than once whether or not she was actually some aedra's cast away art project.
There was no doubt in her mind that she'd become psychically stronger, and to add onto that... she was now immortal. Irina also felt an increase in magika as well, a feeling that she never once thought would feel so... calming. Especially in a form such as this. The woman lowered her hands and let them relax by her sides,
Irina's eyes lit up and a half-smirk etched itself into her countenance. With the vampire lord there was so much more to experience, on top of being the dragonborn now she was a powerful vampire.
Her heart felt no remorse for the Dawnguard. They were a small band of people either way, they had powerful players to be sure, that being said, Irina didn't get to know them very well. There was no real loyalty tied with that organization, and yet all the same... the lesser vampires terrorizing the cities and towns will die by her hand.
With a calm exhale the woman allowed herself to be relieved of the vampire lord. She felt the magic and power slip away from her being until she looked down at her hands and found them to be the familiar bronze she'd always had.
Irina felt herself become unstable and dropped to a knee, she wiped a thin layer of sweat from her brow and sighed, "not quite the master yet... as I should've guessed." She pushed herself upright and swept her hair behind her head, a trip outside would do her some good.
Once Irina walked through the gates she was met with a chill and thick puffs of clouds overhead bringing a gentle snow, she knew those clouds would bring a storm with them with her somewhat understanding Skyrim's weather.
The woman crossed her arms over her chest and slowly walked along the bridge. Stone gargoyles were perched on pedestals every ten feet and Irina wondered if they would jump out and come to life. She stared at one for a couple seconds, feeling some strange aura come from it... Irina shook her head and continued forward when nothing happened.
There was a small breeze as she approached the shore.
The snows had been falling calmly, Irina held out her hand and watched as a little clump of snow turned into a handful. Irina enjoyed the snow, but she didn't like the cold all that much, which was a contradiction but she was filled with plenty.
She would've been happier if she were back in the rift, the leaves on the trees turned a beautiful orange color and they fell in piles as big the dovahkiin. To hear them crunch undernreath her boots... It was a sound that she never thought she'd come to miss. Three years living on top of a mountain served her well, spirtually and physically.
Howevever, it also brought out a certain loneliness.
Once she made it to the shore she watched the waves with serenity.
The shore was quiet and peaceful. Irina took in a deep breath and ran a hand through her hair, she tried to force herself to feel some type of remorse for abandoning the Dawnguard but couldn't muster the feelings at all. She almost felt bad for not feeling bad, but in all honesty the time spent with the people was short-lived. The only two she could form an opinion on was the orc Durak and a young man whom had gone in at around the same time as her.
She furrowed her brows, "I wonder, what ever happened to him...-"
Irina abruptly stopped and felt a burning sensation coming from her cheek, along with the sound of a crossbow reloading. Irina turned on her heel but she was a second too late to do anything as she let out a cry as a second wave of pain struck her.
A thick silver bolt lodged itself into her left shoulder, blood spilled onto the dampened dirt and another bolt lodged itself into her left forearm coming out as the other side as it did so, the bolts were lodged in deep and flesh was twisted to a painful knot.
Her entire left arm was left useless. The bolts lodged in her forearm and shoulder made it extremely painful to move her fingers, much less her entire arm.
The bosmer grunted in annoyance and fell to the ground in pain. Irina tried to clutch her wounded left arm but even touching her limb brought her extreme pain, with a growl she let her arm hang at her side. She looked to the direction of where the bolts came from and her eyes widened in shock at a man clad in Dawnguard armor.
How did they find this place? How many else had been here?
Her questions were cut short when her arm had begun to burn, there was a hissing sound coming from her limb. Irina reluctantly looked and what she saw made her bite down on her jaw in disgust. Her flesh was healing itself, but the bolts were silver and they burned the regenerating flesh over and over.
Irina's narrowed eyes burned with anger and with determination drew the only weapon she'd woken up with, her ebony dagger that'd been hanging at her waist when she first entered the castle.
When she was turned Irina donned her Deathbrand set, when she awoke she'd clearly been bathed and was in a new set of clothes. They saved her at least the dagger.
Damn... Damn it! There was no feasible way she could win this fight, not as she was... Her eyes turned to her attacker, his face was obscured by his armor with the metal covering his nose. His eyes were a fiery brown, and she could see wisps of blonde hair. Who was this man? Why did he look so familiar?
Irina didn't have time to dwell on it because the moment he spoke memories came rushing back to her.
"Isran thought you'd perished in Dimhollow Crypt. He sent a small group of Dawnguard to investigate the crypt and then Morthal since it's the nearest town, I was a part of that group" his voice expressed annoyance. She raised a brow and lowered the arm which held her dagger, which was her mistake. The nord was still aiming and once he saw she lowered her guard he shot her right thigh.
Irina released a shout that tapped into her thu'um, the ground beneath her shook and made her imbalanced.
The bolt lodged itself into her flesh and threatened to never let go, it burned. It was the most painful thing on her mind right now.
Irina tried hard to concentrate to transform into her vampire lord but the pain and her disoriented state proved too much to bypass mentally. She dropped her ebony dagger and fell to her knees, the movement hurting her thigh all the same.
The Dawnguard scout approached her and she let her shoulders slump.
"it was such an inconvenience, to look for you. I was almost worried when I saw you enter the castle, but look at you... you turned. Into a damned vampire... As if the rest of the Dawnguard needed more reasons to despise you" Irina was struck with confusion. She hadn't associated with any of the Dawnguard, she mainly kept to herself. The only person she'd spoken to was Durak and that was only for one night over a drink…Why would they...?
"Is there a reason for that or am I not allowed to ask?" she questioned with a strained voice, for every minute the silver was in her body the more intense the burning became. He crouched low to her and stared into her eyes, her new orange colored eyes. He shook his head in disgust "Isran had made the biggest fuss about finding you. Dead or alive, 'we must at least recover her body' he said. He's never once asked that about anyone else, not for the dozens that died in vampire caverns... no one. Only you, dragonborn"
"Is that it? So the rest of you became jealous?" she asked incredulous, he furrowed his brows as if the reason now sounded more ridiculous being said aloud. A flicker of childish annoyance ran through him and he turned his crossbow around to hit her with the butt of the weapon. Blood oozed from her mouth and her lips now throbbed in pain.
"Well, I suppose it's not too late to ask you to let me go and show mercy?" she asked in a dry tone in an attempt to be humorous, his voice scratched the deepest recesses of her memory as he responded.
"You've barely just joined the Dawnguard and now you go off on your own as you're so famously known to do…- and for what? Your name will be tarnished once Isran finds out what you've become… but tell me, what could they have offered you that you would want besides immortality?" her eyes went up to meet the mans who removed his helmet revealing tresses of shoulder length blonde hair and a pair of bright brown eyes staring back down at her with remorse.
Her eyes finally registered his face and his voice, his name was Agmaer.
"I switched sides because I wanted the power they offered. These are no normal vampires, friend. I have that right as dragonborn, to soothe my dragon soul by obtaining strength and knowing I could dominate whomever in battle... It's nothing against any of you, I just have no desire to surround myself with weak, envious fools" the nord's frown only settled deeper in his face and kicked her square in the jaw.
"dragonborn this... dragon soul that, you shouldn't even be the dovahkiin- you're a mer" he scoffed and rubbed the bridge of his nose.
"Isran did say dead or alive, what're you going to do?" she asked with a half-smirk. Keeping her alive would be the smart choice but he wouldn't be able to keep her a prisoner for long.
"I want to drag you back to fort Dawnguard, throw you in front of the jarl and have you sleep in a dungeon for the rest of your days... But you have friends everywhere that would come to save you. Realistically, It'd be better for you to die alone here" he concluded.
"How charming. Well, I guess since that is your swornd duty... be done with it then." Irina hung her head low and awaited his judgement. Or so she made it seem. She had finally taken a small break from the man's trigger finger and focused her magic into her chest. Not for the vampire lord but to use her thu'um.
I will blast you all the way back to Sovngarde, you poor fool.
The sound of a crossbow reloading was heard and Irina quashed down a smirk. She looked up at her would-be attacker and released a concentrated shout that shook the ground beneath their feet, Agmaer's body flung backwards with enough force to render him dead as soon as his head made contact with a gargoyle.
However satisfying that was to the bosmer, the man still unloaded his crossbow just in time to puncture Irina's stomach. Blood spilt from her midsection at a steady rate and she fell forward into the snow, with a grunt the woman rolled herself onto her back and tried to keep her breathing even as to not bleed faster.
She needed to get up but the bolt in her right thigh made it damn near impossible to stand without pain. Irina chuckled to herself in disbelief, what a disgraceful way to die.
A loud thud was heard and she snapped her eyes open to see Agmaer's body next to hers. His eyes were rolled back into his head and his face was almost as pale as the snow. Blood trickled down from the top of his head, the man had been dead the instant he collided with the stone... Why did his body-
The elf's thoughts were interuppted when she looked up to see Serana's face. The nord scanned the woman's body for the extent of the damage and knelt down beside her, "I was wondering where you'd gone. You're really making use of the power my father gave you, huh? Here, drink this it'll help" she sounded annoyed and Irina couldn't blame her.
The bosmer felt her hand cup the back of her head and tilt her head forward. Serana uncorked a bottle that was oval in shape and inside a liquid as dark as black. The tip of the bottle pressed against her lips and Irina drank without hesitation, she knew the bottle had to have been blood.
Once she was done with the bottle's contents Serana tossed it to the side and glanced at the bolts that were sticking out from all directions.
Serana reached to touch the bolt that resided in her shoulder but Irina pushed herself away from the nord with a sudden burst of strength.
Serana looked at her incredulously and furrowed her eyebrows. "Do not… touch. The bolts are made of silver, they'll burn your hands" the elf coughed out with a strained voice. Irina's mouth filled with blood again which in turn caused small rivers of red to come out the sides of her mouth.
Serana's arm reached out and grabbed ahold of Irina, the woman was placed in Serana's lap and was locked in a firm grip.
"I will be fine, but if I allow these to stay in your body you'll die" Serana grabbed a hold of the silver stud and let out a cry of pain when her hands made contact with the metal.
Irina tried moving away again but Serana had a lot more strength than she gave her credit for and held her in place. Irina bit down hard on her jaw and watched with a sense of anxiety as Serana removed the bolt from her shoulder, it was lodged inside pretty deep and took a fair amount of musce to get it out.
With some reluctance, Serana's hand tightened around the silver bolt portruding from her stomach and yanked it out fiercely. Irina tensed in her arms but didn't say a word else, the only thing Serana registered was the tight grip that the bosmer had placed on her clothes.
Once the final bolt was freed from her body Irina fixed her gaze on the woman, she had a strong jawline. "Thanks..." she managed out weakly.
Serana gave a small smile, "You're welcome...-"
The bosmer shifted her weight to her feet and attempted to stand upright, her stomach and thigh were still bleeding making movement difficult. She took one step forward, then made to take another step before she felt her knees buckle and her body fell forward. Serana cursed under her breath and caught her midway, taking in their height difference for the first time.
"Let's go inside. I'll have someone come by and dress your wounds" she spoke authoritatively wrapping an arm around the bosmer's shoulders and hoisting her in an upright position, the dragonborn nodded while they both made their way into the castle and out of the cold.
Irina was certain that she couldn't walk without the aid of the nord, in which she was thankful for. Serana led her to a room with a normal bed and fireplace. As they passed through the great hall some vampires looked their way and she could see them count the holes in her body. Some looked confused and others were nonchalant about her condition.
Irina was dismissed in their minds entirely.
"This was my room as a child, It's got a bed. Something you'll be used to, I'm sure" Serana spoke while she closed the door behind them.
Irina untangled herself from the nord's arms and walked to the bed wearily.
"If you fall one more time, I'm going to let you" Serana warned with her arms crossed. Irina gave her a small chuckle before sitting herself at the edge.
"How kind of you, my lady." Irina said with a dry voice. She moved her hands to the strings of her shirt and fiddled them, her left hand was moving without issues and worked painfully slow to untie and loosen her shirt strings. Serana sighed and approached the poor elf.
A pair of soft hands placed themselves over her wrists, "enough, let me"
Serana undressed her with a swiftness that left Irina in her small-clothes in just a few minutes. The nord gathered her bloodied garments within her arms and narrowed her eyes to the elf's face, her lower lip was cut open, the blood dried already. Her eyebrow had an open cut, either side of her jaw was bruised purple and tender to the touch. Her chin had scratch marks from when she fell down unto the ground, that was the extent but even so...
Serana furrowed her brows, "he hurt you more than necessary."
"If you'd prefer, Serana, I could wear a helmet" the attempt at humor was returned with a disapproving frown from Serana.
Irina shrugged, "I am painfully aware of how harsh my treatment was... Believe me, if not for this vampirism-"
"You'd have certainly passed out already from the lack of blood, the potion I gave you helps some but sleeping will hasten the effects."
"I'll have someone come in while you're asleep to clean you off, just rest for now. You need it"
The elf nodded quietly and laid back onto the soft sheets before closing her eyes for sleep, her body felt as heavy as lead and she felt as if she were sinking into the mattress. Irina gave Serana her thanks to which she got a small smile in return.
Irina's mind and body were tired and her eyes slipped closed almost immediately. The sound of a door closing indicated the nord had left the room, while Irina's breathing slowed down to a rhythm.
Irina felt the heat of the fireplace warm her chilled bones and she felt quite relaxed. Whatever blood potion she was given had stopped the majority of the pain, it hurt to move too much but she was thankful the burning was now a dull sting.
The elf let out a tiny breath of annoyance, it was embarrassing to be reduced to this state right after she was just given the blood of a vampire lord. The elf couldn't transform even though she tried to, while she was on her knees when Agmaer was too preoccupied speaking she had tried but couldn't.
Irina had thought if it was because she had already transformed earlier with Harkon present. With a another tiny sigh the elf moved her head to the side and decided she would have to practice the transformation later. Her musings stopped when she heard footsteps from outside the door, her gaze flickered to the door.
The woman who entered was a nord. She had brown hair and sunken in eyes, in either hand was a bucket of water and clean rags.
"Lady Serana said not to wake you, but you were already awake... trouble going to sleep?" her nordic accent was thick.
"Something like that, can't quite get comfortable..." Irina muttered slowly rising to sit upright.
"I see you were stabbed with silver, a small amount... but even so, the burns tend to linger" she noted while motioning for Irina's left arm. Irina nodded in agreement and complied with the woman, with her right hand she swept her light brown hair back and levelled with the nord.
"What's your name?"
"Hestla, I would ask yours but everyone in the castle has mentioned your name at least once to me"
"I take it your tired of hearing it then, hmm?" Irina asked cheekily. Underneath her eyes were trenches but she still managed a joke despite wanting to roll over and sleep. Hestla looked at her with the same half smirk before shaking her head, "you should get some rest before you want to enter a battle of wits with me"
Irina chuckled lightly. Her voice was scratchy and her laugh rumbled in her throat, Hestla made a mental note of her fatigue and quickly made to scrubbing away the dried blood from her body. She was gentle around her midsection and thigh, almost motherly, Irina appreciated the gesture but was also impatient to be left alone to rest.
The elf found herself slipping her eyes closed despite having Hestla in the room with her.
Serana must have been standing outside the door for a good ten minutes now. The dovahkiin was sure to be sound asleep, yet even so... why was she hesitating? The nord had brought her stalhrim armor from it's resting place in Hestla's forge, Irina would appreciate to have her armor back. She was sure to have felt helpless without it when facing the Dawnguard soldier.
She rolled her eyes at her own self and promptly opened the door. Just as she thought, Irina was sound asleep lying on her back. The nord shook her head, getting into the room required much more effort on her part than necessary. Her footsteps brought her to the wardrobe just a few feet shy from the bed Serana quietly set her armor inside and once finished she spared a glance at the bosmer.
She had promised to tell her of the elder scroll. She'd promised to tell her of why she was buried with it, and she would have! But that truth would've been kep safe had it not been for her turning.
Why did she accept? Was it to infiltrate somehow? No... she didn't seem like the type to play both sides, but then again Serana didn't know a thing about the strange woman. She'll come to know more, that was for certain.
Maybe Irina could be the one to help Serana... That was still up in the air, but maybe.
The nord stood erect and closed the wardrobe silently. She walked over to the bosmer with her arms crossed, her brows furrowed at the bruises marring her beautiful face. Her breathing was even but it was light, but that made sense because she was now undead.
When Irina was mortal her breathing had been much deeper...- Serana blinked back into focus, why did she even know that?
She sighed quietly to herself and fixed her gaze back to the elf. What a beautiful woman... Serana had never met a mer quite as stunning as Irina. She'd be surprised if no one was around to speak for her.
Serana placed her fingertips on the spot on her neck where two tiny puncture wounds were, the vampire held a remorseful stare before removing her hand completely. Her father looked so smug when he'd turned the dovahkiin into a vampire, it disgusted Serana for a whole variety of reasons.
Turning a mortal into a vampire wasn't something that vampires did to anyone, it was considered an intimate experience for both parties. Irina succumbed to her father's Vampire Seduction, it must have been the reason she accepted the offer so willingly.
Serana watched the dovahkiin gently breathe and examined her features more closely now. The elf was just... gorgeous, all her features were sharp and dainty. Her eyes were fierce and strong, her stature and the way she carried herself told one that she wasn't a pushover. Then there was her body… Irina was a little muscular to be sure, but it didn't look at all unattractive.
Serana replayed the woman's staring at her body in Solitude and the look of awe on her features, how long had it been since someone looked at her like that?
She placed her fingertips lightly on the elf's chin, "Such beauty…" she mumbled softly tilting the woman's head upwards, only a little. As to not disturb her slumber. The color on Serana's cheeks only deepened when she pressed her mouth against the elf's own. Her lips were so soft...
A second passed then two... Serana opened her eyes suddenly and took a step back. She brought a hand to her mouth as if being surprised by her own actions, why did she do that? With a silent swallow the nord turned on her heel and rushed out the door to keep her thoughts in line.
Little did she know that the bosmer opened her eyes with full knowledge of what had transpired and touched her lips curiously.