Despite the long day of walking on the last leg of our trek, Dexion power walked up the stairs and straight into Fort Dawnguard, leaving Serana and me surprised in his wake. We shared a glance, then jogged after him.

"Whoa, Dexion! Hang on a moment!" The doors closed on my voice.

"Damn, I guess the prospect of reading an Elder Scroll turned the old man into a young boy," I quipped.

By the time we were through the doors, we found Dexion standing before a slightly confused, and thoroughly disapproving Isran.

"I am here for the Elder Scroll," Dexion's voice echoed to me in the main chamber. "Please hand it over."

"Hold on, old man," Isran growled, "I don't know who you are, and you can't just parade in here with your hand out..."

"I vouch for him, Isran," I interrupted, finally catching up with the spry old man. "This is Dexion Evicus, the Moth Priest we went to go find."

"Really." The other Redguard made it a statement rather than a question. "Very well, but I'm not going to just hand it over the instant you walk through my doors. Come with me… Dexion. The day is over, we're eating dinner, and we need to get a bed fixed up for you."

Dexion looked a little frustrated by having his request denied, but acquiesced to the Dawnguard leader's calm, no-nonsense attitude.

The two walked away, and I sighed wearily and rubbed the back of my neck, "Something tells me tomorrow is going to be another journey for us. I'm glad you thought ahead for tonight."

Serana nodded, "I wouldn't mind something a bit more… normal though."

"Meat? Cheese? Bread? Fruit?" I inquired, leading her to the dining area.

There were several Dawnguard members already seated, and they all gave Serana the side eye as we went to make our selections. Serana's left hand came up to nervously grip her right arm as casual conversation in the room came to an abrupt stop.

"Um, I would prefer something sweet, actually..." Serana was as close on my heels as a faithful hound, shoulders hunched.

I grinned at her, ignoring the other Dawnguard members as though we had the room to ourselves. "You're a dessert-first kind of woman, hmm?" I teased gently, noting the surprised blink out of the corner of my eyes, followed by a shy smile. I looked over the fare spread before us on the table. "In that case, it looks like you have a choice between a slice of apple pie, a snowberry crostata, or a sweet roll."

I loaded up a wooden tray with my own dinner: choosing some beef stew, a baked potato, and a slice of bread spread thickly with butter, but foregoing the garlic spread out of respect for Serana.

My fellow Dawnguard members had no such respect. They slathered their bread with the garlic before walking off to chew their food while staring directly at my companion. I aimed a scowl at several of them for their rudeness, and was rewarded to see them avert their eyes.

Standing on the side farthest from the others, Serana eyed the sweet roll, before choosing a slice of apple pie. We settled at a table at a distance from the rest of the Dawnguard. I gestured for her to sit with her back to the wall, and I sat between her and my fellow vampire hunters.

Her shoulders slowly relaxed as I continued to ignore the room, while also ensuring that anyone who approached would have to get through me to aim at her. "I guess you could say that," she allowed, her voice still tight with nerves.

"Hmm. Well, I can't say I blame you, though I find eating savory before the sweet makes dessert taste better." I took a spoon full of stew and sighed in satisfaction as the hot food slid down my throat. I wrapped my hands around the bowl, feeling the heat seep into my fingers. "I won't lie… Though I'm pretty acclimated to the local weather, I'm still Redguard enough to crave heat."

The corners of her mouth began to twitch, "I doubt that will ever change for you..."

I caught movement and turned my head, spotting Isran and Dexion coming to join the meal.

Isran's sharp, dark eyes took in the unabashed, and borderline hostile, staring of the other members and cleared his throat pointedly. "While I am not entirely pleased by… a certain visitor within these halls, I am also aware that she happens to be a valuable asset. I will tolerate no hostilities toward the vampire who sups with us. Her behavior has been assured to be exemplary, and she will remain under the control of the most skilled member we have." His eyes flicked to mine, and took in my gratified expression. He favored me with the tiniest of nods, then narrowed his eyes and met the gaze of every other Dawnguard member. "If the lot of you cannot keep yourselves civil, I will find tasks that will keep you busy. Is that understood?"

There was a low murmur of assent in the room.

Serana let out a barely audible breath next to me, and finally seemed to be able to eat with some appetite. By her soft hum of pleasure, I would guess that whoever had been in charge of cooking had outdone themselves.

Isran strode over to the dessert table near us and fired a scowl in her direction, "Don't make me regret publicly supporting you, vampire."

Serana's response was little more than an arched eyebrow, and a slight head tilt. "I am happy to live and let live, so long as the same courtesy is given to me."

"I believe that's the best you're going to get out of this lot," Isran's voice held just a tinge of apology.

"That's fair," Serana made another soft sound of pleasure around a spoon full of apple filling and then gave the Redguard a small smile. "If you would, pass my compliments to your cook for the apple pie. It's perfect."

Isran started slightly, surprise and pleasure flitting across his face, and then cleared his throat gruffly, "I'll… ah… pass it along." He selected a slice of pie for himself and beat a hasty retreat, his face reddening.

I barely managed to stifle my giggles enough to keep them from being overheard by anyone else, my shoulders shaking from the effort. "Oh dear," I murmured, "I don't think he knows how to handle a compliment from you."

Serana allowed herself a low chuckle as well, "I did say that I can be persuasive. I suppose this is a step in the right direction for thawing him out a little."

The conversation slowly returned to normal levels around us as we polished off the food. Once we had settled our dishes, I gestured for Serana to follow me.

I knew there was no way she was going to be able to get any rest in a room full of vampire hunters. I led her to a quiet nook and set up our bedrolls. If she noticed that mine happened to be between the door and herself, Serana didn't mention it.

.

The next morning, we ate a hearty breakfast and joined Isran and Dexion in the main chamber.

"Good morning Dexion. How was your night?"

I was rewarded with a warm smile behind his gray beard. "It's not exactly the hospitality I'm used to, but Isran has seen to my needs well enough. And might I add, this is a remarkable fortress. I have colleagues back home that would love to study this place in detail."

"Heh, well maybe one day they may receive a letter inviting them to come and poke around?" I flashed him a mischievous smile, and earned a scowl from Isran.

"Lasirah, I swear if you turn this place into a tourist spot for fusty old scholars, I will knock you over the head and drop you into Riften's Ratway."

"Memo to self: wear a helmet," I retorted.

Dexion sighed in amused exasperation, "If I may begin reading the Elder Scroll?"

I nodded and gestured for him to go ahead.

Isran held out the massive scroll tube and set it gently in the old man's hand. As the Moth Priest pulled the Elder Scroll from its resting place, I was in for a surprise. It seemed to be nothing fancier than a sheet of something that could have been silk, and no larger than a page from a book. My head hurt, trying to think about the magic required to fill such a small artifact with such power. I let it slide after only a few seconds.

"Now, if everyone will please be quiet, I must concentrate." Dexion perused the scroll in front of him. "I see a vision before me, an image of a great bow. I know this weapon! It is Auriel's Bow! Now a voice whispers, saying 'Among the night's children, a dread lord will rise. In an age of strife, when dragons return to the realm of men, darkness will mingle with light and the night and day will be as one.' The voice fades and the words begin to shimmer and distort." His voice took on a note of strain, and I started to speak, willing to let him stop for the day, but he continued. "But wait, there is more here. I think there is more to the prophecy, recorded in other scrolls." Sweat was starting to break out on his forehead, and his face was growing pale.

"Dexion," I started, "If you need to take a break..."

"Yes, I see them now," he interrupted me. "One contains the ancient secrets of the dragons, and the other speaks of the potency of ancient blood. My vision darkens, and I see no more." He released the end of the scroll, which retreated into the tube. "To know the complete prophecy, we must have the other two scrolls."

He began to sway and I darted forward to catch him in case he collapsed. At the last second, he managed to right himself, though his breathing was labored. "I must rest now. Reading the scroll has made me weary."

"Come on, old man." Isran said, not unkindly, "Let's get you to bed."

Isran and I hooked the old man's arms over our shoulders and led him off to the bed that had been set up for him.

Once he had settled, Isran, Serana, and I closed the door gently on the makeshift room for the Moth Priest.

"Do you believe Serana now?" I asked, "About the prophecy, I mean?"

"I heard a lot of vague nonsense," the Dawnguard leader answered doubtfully. "You could interpret that prophecy a hundred different ways, and I have yet to see a single dragon flying around." I blew out a breath in annoyance, but he continued. "Still, the civil war is plenty enough proof of strife, and the biggest thing that stood out for me was Auriel's Bow. That's a powerful weapon, and I sure as Oblivion don't want the vampires to get hold of it."

"Okay, fine, so at least we agree on something. I hope it's at least clear enough that we need to get the other scrolls?"

Isran nodded, "The Moth Priest can stay here for now. As for the vampire," he flashed Serana a narrow-eyed glance, "I still don't trust her, so keep her on a leash. As for the other scrolls… well, that's your problem. You two can figure out which musty holes to go traipsing through, while we continue to fortify our position here and train our men to be ready."

"Isran..." I started, irritably, but he met my eyes with a scowl.

"They have already attacked us, Lasirah. We need to train. We need to defend ourselves. We're also having to bulk up our defenses; if they come again, we need to be ready. You and that… vampire seem to work well enough together. You are mobile, you are quick, and you know how to take care of yourself already. You don't need training, and you seem to be perfectly capable of finding whatever you're looking for on your own." He turned away from me and strode off.

I had no idea where to even begin.