Chapter LXXXII – Uninvited

More days went by peacefully at the cottage, all filled with strangely unfamiliar but also comfortable domesticity.

It was nice. There was always that little bit of nervousness plaguing both Bishop and Aeyrin about something going wrong, but it was always quickly forgotten too. Nothing was going wrong in their haven.

But eventually, Aeyrin started to feel a familiar itch.

It was hard to deny. It's been an amazing bunch of weeks, but the peace sometimes made her feel restless. And she noticed it on Bishop too. Especially when he was taking a little longer on his hunts each time.

In the evenings, sometimes she would pull out the map and idly muse over some of the emptier locations. There were so many Holds open to them, waiting for them to delve into new mysteries and adventures. As long as Esbern didn't summon them yet. She really hoped it would take a while. Now she was just itching for adventure with only the usual stress accompanying it, not the doom and gloom of the world ending.

She and Bishop haven't talked about leaving yet. She did enjoy the time they had here, but they could surely return soon. But there was also no rush to leave either. They could discuss it at any point. Leave at any point. There was nothing pressing them in one direction or the other.

So for now, Aeyrin kept enjoying the routine of their domestic life, as she was sure Bishop was.

And with Riften so close, it was very convenient. They never had to go far to get some funds to prolong their stay.

And as any other time, every so often, once Bishop came back from a morning hunt with the meat and pelts all ready to be sold, she grabbed them and went to pawn them off at the market while he made lunch.

Bishop was all ready to use part of the day's haul for their meal. They were very well stocked up by now in one of the basement rooms, but food was always best with freshly skinned prey.

But before he could get to it, a knock on the door interrupted him.

Interesting. It was probably the courier. He was going to be glib about their prolonged stay in one place again.

With a growl, Bishop moved to the door and opened. It was definitely not who he expected though.

A cloaked figure stood there in front of him and for a moment he panicked. He did not like people hiding their faces. He always thought of the assassins. But those usually hid their mouths – this woman was clearly only hiding her eyes with her hood. Strands of black hair rested on her shoulders below it and the strange corseted shirt and traveling trousers gave her out. He'd seen that outfit before. As well as that stoic look on the lower half of her face.

"Serana?" Bishop blinked in disbelief. "What the fuck are you doing here? Shit… don't even tell me." If Serana somehow found them here, something bad must have happened. Did she need their help? Didn't she have Isran and the Dawnguard helping with the prophecy? Or was it something she couldn't share with the vampire hunters?

Fuck, stop panicking and wait for her to talk.

"Bishop," Serana nodded. "Hello again. May I come in?" Her face told him nothing. There was no panic, no fear, no anger, no nothing. Dammit, he hated how hard she was to read.

He freed the way for her so that she could enter. It did make him feel a little hesitant though. He knew. He knew she was all about stopping her father and that she had those concerns to deal with, but it was still a little odd to be letting a vampire that could charm him at any second into the house. Where he was alone. He couldn't help himself. But he swallowed the paranoia and let her in.

"What happened?" He prodded again. He needed her to talk already so that he could calm down.

Serana pulled down her hood when she was safely inside, revealing her bright glowing eyes. She looked around curiously at first, as if she enjoyed keeping him in suspense, but Bishop suspected she just didn't realize how nervous he was right now. Maybe that should calm him down? She seemed calm. Though she always seemed calm.

This was not helpful.

"I asked Isran to find out where you are. I'm not really… eager to ask around myself," she gave him a somewhat weak wry smile. "People said you live here, apparently. Congratulations on your wedding."

"Thanks," Bishop just nodded curtly. Of course the news of their wedding got out. It wasn't exactly a secret. And people from Riften would know they lived around here by now. At least the general direction. And some people in Riften knew the exact place too.

"I'm sorry if I surprised you, coming uninvited. Where is Aeyrin?" She asked. This still didn't help him at all. What if she was asking if he was alone so that she could do something?

Stop that!

"She's just shopping. She'll be back soon," Bishop answered. It was the truth. And it also ensured that she would know he would not be alone for long, just in case. "Did anything happen with that prophecy shit?" He finally asked. That was another major concern, currently.

"No," Serana shook her head. "Well… yes. But we can speak more of that later, if you're interested. It's not why I'm here."

"Then why are you here?" He prodded. Fuck, spill it already!

"When we were camping in the Rift, near the fort, we spoke," Serana began. She seemed uncertain. Yeah… they talked a bunch on their way to the fort. What the fuck was this about? "You mentioned your plans. Visiting Aeyrin's father."

"Yeah. So?" Bishop raised his brow. They didn't go see Therien back then in the end, though they did later. But why was that important? Or was this about when they spoke about Bishop's father after? About the shit they were clearly both all too familiar with – tyrants controlling their lives; assholes that needed to die.

"You mentioned a name of his. I cannot recall," Serana sighed, as if she was mad at herself for not remembering. It was a name he mumbled to himself once. Why would she remember? And more importantly, why should she?

"Why?" Bishop narrowed his eyes at Serana. Why would she need Therien's name? She had no idea who he even was.

The man didn't do anything stupid did he? He didn't go and get himself turned into a vampire to beat his aging body? He really didn't seem the type. He seemed at peace with his natural end. And he was a fucking Stendarrite! So what the fuck would Serana have to do with him?

"Are you always this evasive?" Serana scowled at him in frustration. Oh she was frustrated?!

"Are you? What the fuck is going on? Why would you need his name?" Bishop barked. He was not gonna tell her. Why would he? He had no idea what kind of shit that could cause.

"You already told me before," Serana huffed.

"Yeah well, tough shit for not remembering. I'm not saying it again," he scoffed. What the fuck? Why did she need to know? He didn't understand a thing. "Not until I know why the fuck you would need to know it."

"I heard… someone. Someone was speaking of her father. He said a name…" Serana sighed, as if she resigned herself to tell the truth at last.

This wasn't the truth! This was nothing! Who was this someone? The Thalmor? Stormcloaks? More dissidents? It could be just fine but it could also mean something really fucking bad.

Wait though.

Hmmm.

"He's not actually her father," Bishop shook his head. This 'someone' was talking about her father? Really? Nobody but Bishop called Therien her 'father'. Not as far as he knew. Maybe Lydia and Saadia. "He raised her, but he's not her real father. He's a priest."

"Oh. Right," Serana nodded thoughtfully. "Priest. I remember her amulet. Yes. That makes sense. It all makes sense."

"What does?" Bishop scowled. He was so fucking lost. Was someone talking about Therien or not? And what did it mean?

"Does she know who her real father is then?" Serana asked. So… it wasn't about Therien? What the fuck?

"Yeah," Bishop just nodded curtly. She was not giving him anything, she was not getting much in return. Bishop still wasn't willing to divulge much for this little.

"Hmm… does she… uhm…" Serana shuffled uncertainly. Alright. This was fucking enough.

"Just spill it already!" Bishop barked. He was so on edge the entire time, it was pissing him off.

"Do you know her real father? At least his name," she asked once more.

"What the fuck is with you and names? Why would you need to know?" Bishop huffed. What good was that information?

"Because they spoke the name. I need to know," Serana scowled.

Ugh. This was so frustrating. But this name did not matter to anyone in the slightest. At least they might get somewhere.

"Faldaen. Now tell me already what the fuck is going on," he growled.

"So it is him," she sighed almost regretfully.

"Serana!" He threw up his arms in exasperation. Give me some fucking explanations already!

"Alright. I'm sorry, I just… needed to be sure first," she sighed. "No reason to speak of this if it was not true. It's that… my clan recently had a… mission, of sorts. In a place called Redwater."

Redwater?

He knew all too well what that place was. He'd known this a long time through his travels in the Rift. More recently though, he remembered a small warehouse there. A warehouse where Faldaen led Aeyrin to be taken by Thorn's men.

A warehouse where they left that wretch for dead. Or for Ri'zhassa, whichever came first.

Ri'zhassa never told Aeyrin what happened to her father. But now it looked like someone else knew.

"You found him?" Bishop's eyes widened at her. "He's alive?" He kinda hoped that fucker would just die there, trying to lick all that spilled skooma off the floor or something.

"Well… no. Not exactly," Serana shrugged somewhat noncommittally. What the fuck did that mean?

"Serana, please, for fuck's sake, just tell me what happened," he groaned. He knew she had been 'asleep' for two hundred years and living in seclusion before, but this was fucking ridiculous. Couldn't she tell she needed to be much more forthcoming?!

"There is a place in Redwater, hidden beneath an old building," Serana finally began to explain. "It's a skooma den. But it's not just a skooma den. A few of our clan left us years ago to… run the place. They imbue the skooma with their blood. It becomes… potent. It made them a lot of money and endless opportunities to procure cattle."

Fuck. So Faldaen wasn't left for dead in an empty warehouse? He found a skooma den below? That must have been his fucking dream come true. Even if the mentions of vampire blood did make it all sound even more disgusting.

Wait… what did she say?

"'Cattle'?" Bishop asked uncertainly. Why cattle?

"It's what we call the… people we keep around. For nourishment," Serana explained. She said that so casually. The only word she paused at was 'people'. As if she had a hard time considering them as such. Maybe she had.

"Fucking Void," Bishop let out a disgusted groan at her explanation. That was so fucked up.

"It doesn't matter," she waved him off. "Two more of our clan decided to betray us to this operation. They stole an artifact that makes our blood even stronger if we drink from it. They wanted it to make the skooma even more potent to lure in more addicts. So… our clan went to take it back."

"What kind of a fucking artifact is that?" Bishop cringed. That sounded creepy as fuck. What was in it to drink? More blood, no doubt.

"I suspect that the fewer details you know, the better," Serana shrugged.

Too late!

"You could have kept that 'cattle' shit to yourself too," he grumbled. He really didn't need to know that. He did ask, but… fuck, why wouldn't she just wave that off?

"In any case, some of the addicts fought. But some were already out of it enough to follow us to the castle. And some had to be captured. They were… turned. I think our former clansmen did that to the cattle that was… on the verge of dying. Being drained," she continued to provide disturbing explanations.

Fuck, he really didn't need to know this.

But… wait… did that mean?

"Are you saying Faldaen is a vampire?" Bishop scowled intensely. Shit. What? That would be more trouble than he had originally thought.

"Yes. I think. We killed them – the new vampires. They are rabid and addicted to skooma. Or perhaps I should say… a skooma-filled blood now. But one of them kept rambling that we can't kill him – that he's the Dragonborn's father. I managed to convince the clansmen to leave him for now. They find him amusing, so it wasn't hard. They kept one of the cattle for him to feed and the rest of the den is just… gone for good. But I came to ask. So… it is possible? It could be her real father?" Serana looked at Bishop curiously.

"Yeah. We left him there, in that building. We thought he'd die there, that fucking wretch. We had no idea there were vampires and a skooma den there," Bishop scoffed at himself. They should have just killed him. But Aeyrin did not want that on her conscience.

"It was well hidden," Serana reassured him. Well… as reassuring as she could be. "And he did kind of die."

"Why didn't you just kill him?" Bishop sighed. "Why ask if it's him? You've seen him. What the fuck does it matter?" It would have been so much easier if she just let him be killed and nobody needed to deal with this.

"Why? You killed your father. I will kill mine," Serana shrugged, as if it was obvious.

"So what? You want Aeyrin to join our merry little club of father-killers?" Bishop scoffed. Why? Why make it harder by having her hear about this? Maybe she did deserve to hear it. But he sure as fuck wished she wouldn't have to.

He was tempted to tell Serana to do it and forget this ever happened. Be on her way again. So fucking tempted.

"No… I think you know. I know. She needs to decide. It's her burden. Her chain. Does she want it cut off?" Serana asked curiously.

Fuck, he had no idea. The last time, she didn't. It was a long time ago though. She had her closure. She left him for dead. But she didn't want to kill him either. He had no idea what this news would do to her.

As if on call, the door swung open. Fuck, no way around it now.

"Serana?" Aeyrin's eyes widened when she saw who was standing in the room with Bishop. "What are you doing here?" She sounded just as panicked about her presence as Bishop was at first.

Serana didn't answer her. She looked at Bishop again instead with a questioning look. "Yes, Bishop? Her decision."

Fuck, she was right. He knew she was right. He wished he could spare Aeyrin from dealing with this, but it was too late. And besides, he would not be keeping this from her. And how would she even react if she found out he made this call for her? That might not go over well. No… it was better this way. Even if she had to hear all this disturbing shit.

"Go on," Bishop sighed. "Tell her."

Aeyrin watched their interaction with trepidation before her gaze rested on Serana. The anticipation was palpable. And after how much Bishop had to drag this shit out of the vampire, he did not see this coming.

"Your father is being held at Castle Volkihar. He's a vampire now, addicted to very potent skooma, and he claimed to know you. I wanted to check if it was possible. And what you want me to do, if so. I can have him killed or brought back to you," Serana delivered her explanation with her usual stoicism.

Maybe he should have seen this coming.

Aeyrin was left staring slack-jawed at the woman. Her mind felt completely blank. What did she just say? Somehow it was hard to comprehend anything.

"Great job, Serana," Bishop sighed. Tactful as ever.

"You wish me to explain, then you don't. Make up your mind," the vampire scoffed at him.

"Right," he rolled his eyes. It was pointless to explain why she might have wanted to approach this more slowly. It was done. "Come on, let's just… sit down and talk about this shit," with a sigh, he moved to Aeyrin and gently nudged her to follow him to the kitchen table. She looked like she needed to sit down.

This was gonna be a lot of messed up shit to deal with.

…

"S-so… what's he like?" Aeyrin asked uncertainly. She wasn't sure if she wanted to know. She kind of knew it would be bad, but the question left her lips without even thinking.

Serana went over what happened – about some artifact and potent skooma. Aeyrin felt like she wasn't able to follow most of it. She was glad she even caught the main point. She kept subconsciously trying to concentrate on Bishop's comforting presence by her side as all three of them sat by their kitchen table and talked. He sat down beside her right away and when Serana began to talk, he put his arm around her shoulder for comfort. It helped. But she still felt like her mind was reeling.

She wasn't sure what she thought happened to him before – if she thought that he was dead or not. She was convinced she didn't care anymore. She had her closure. He was just… gone. That was enough. But now he wasn't gone. Somehow, he was back again, using her to try to weasel out of another mess. What did he expect a bunch of vampires to do with that information, with the fact he's her father? If Serana didn't know Aeyrin, he would be dead in an instant anyway.

"He's a vampire, but not in a late stage of the disease," Serana explained calmly. She seemed way too calm about all of this, but that was just her. Aeyrin kind of envied her. "The skooma addiction makes things more complicated. The imbued one makes them more… delirious. And instead of mellowing them out so much, it makes them more aggressive and rabid. He lashes out constantly. And most of the time, he doesn't make much sense with what he says. Or at least I don't understand his ramblings. Maybe you would."

Aeyrin cringed at the notion. She really didn't want to see that or hear that to make sense of it at all. She thought she was done. Why wasn't she done? Why wasn't he gone?

"Is there… is there anything to turn him back?" The question left her lips again without thinking. She kind of hated herself instantly for that one. She wasn't even sure what it meant.

"Turn… back? To an elf? Or… to cure him from the addiction?" Serana looked at her in confusion.

"I don't know," Aeyrin shrugged. She didn't know what good would any of it do. Curing his vampirism would leave him the same wretch he used to be. Maybe it would even kill him. Not to mention the struggle with finding cures for such conditions. She didn't even know if vampirism could be cured like lycanthropy, but Isran seemed to have suggested as much when he told them about his Vigilant days.

"Well… I'm not sure. He could be left to his own devices to seek cures for whatever he wanted but…" Serana sighed. "You said you left him there. He was an addict before?"

Aeyrin merely nodded in response. "I never knew him as anything else." She had no idea for how long Faldaen had been an addict before he had her.

"If he wasn't able to break from his addiction before, I'm not sure how successful he would be now. The imbued skooma is… much more powerful. As for vampirism cures… I do not know of any myself, but I know there are some methods. I cannot guarantee that he would be of a sound mind ever again, if he ever was. The drug does a lot of damage, especially the imbued one," Serana answered.

"What happens if we do nothing?" Bishop interjected. There was not much they could do to actually 'help' the man. Wasn't it obvious that he was far too gone?

"We only left one of the cattle for him. He doesn't know how to control himself, but my clansmen try to keep the cattle alive. They won't be able to for too long. The abstinence might kill him. Or my clansmen will, when they get tired of his ramblings," Serana explained.

"You've tried to help him so many times before, sweetness," Bishop sighed. He really hoped she wasn't feeling guilty again about 'abandoning' him. If nothing worked before, now sure as fuck nothing would.

"I… I know," she nodded somberly. She wasn't sure what to do. Before, it felt like closure to leave him be, but now it didn't seem like it. It clearly wasn't. And she knew there was no helping him before. It only ever hurt her to try.

They all stayed silent for a long time and Aeyrin felt a strange pressure to finally speak. She knew they were just waiting for her to say the words. And maybe she was waiting to say them too. She wasn't sure if she would regret them later, but… every other option now just felt worse.

"Kill him," she sighed. This was beyond addiction and betrayal. This was beyond Ri'zhassa's schemes. Nobody could help him now.

"Very well," Serana nodded. There were no questions, no careful prods if she was sure. It was kind of a relief. Aeyrin worried that she would change her mind.

She felt a strange lump in her throat, but she kept telling herself that it was for the best. Closure. The one she thought she had and suddenly found to have escaped her. It didn't feel like it did before. Before it was just relief. Now she felt nothing like it – only a heavy stone weighing on her chest.

"I'm sorry to bear you such upsetting news," Serana sighed. "I just… wanted it to be your decision."

"Thank you," Aeyrin nodded. She wasn't sure if she was grateful for that or resentful. She would have been happier never knowing his fate.

Perhaps this would feel better with time though. She was still in shock after all. She was free of him now. She needed to focus on her life again.

"So… what's new about the prophecy?" She quickly asked, desperately trying to take her mind off it.

"Oh. That," Serana looked like she forgot the prophecy for a while too. "Isran and I have been trying to figure out what to do now. The Scrolls are still with Harkon, but the main thing now is to get the third one before he does so that we can think of the best way to proceed. We might still continue with my ruse. I haven't been found out yet. Maybe presenting the last Scroll to Harkon. If he would allow me to take them to 'Cyrodiil'" she gave them a meaningful look. She was obviously not going to do that. "To have them read by another Moth Priest, we would have access to them all. Isran does not like this plan."

"He doesn't trust you with all three of them, huh?" Bishop smirked. It would have been a valid concern. She could just do all of this to get the Scroll to Harkon.

"I wouldn't have needed his help with anything if obeying my father was my intention. I never would have approached him," Serana scowled a bit. "I do not blame him for his wariness. That is why I agreed. We get the last Scroll to the Dawnguard and then we figure out what to do next. He wants to see me relinquish it, I think. I couldn't show him my intentions by relinquishing the one I was entombed with. I needed to return it to my father to keep up my ruse."

"So you know where the last one is," Aeyrin noted. It wasn't exactly a question. Serana had mentioned that before.

"I know who has it and if anyone can find them, it's me," Serana explained, albeit quite vaguely again. "But it won't be an easy task to find them."

"Is Isran helping you with this?" Aeyrin prodded. They had a clear plan for now, incomplete as it was. To get the last Scroll. They probably had a specific plan for this part already.

"I refused his help," Serana shook her head. "It naturally made him more suspicious, but I got to know him a little overtime. I am wary of heading there on my own, but I'm more wary of his… brashness in certain matters."

"Brashness? Where do you need to go?" Aeyrin cocked her head to the side curiously.

"I… well… the Scroll was taken and hidden by my mother. She hid herself from my father when she stole it from him. She felt the same as I do, though she had the resolve to do something about it sooner. I… did not have her resolve. I did not think it would be possible for me to hide myself from him like she did for centuries," Serana sighed.

"She's been hiding from a man hunting her for centuries? Impressive," Bishop noted. He didn't know Harkon at all, but from Serana's retellings, that fucker sounded relentless.

"Yes. She is much more resourceful in this than me," Serana smiled a bit fondly. "But I know her, and I know she would have left clues for me to find her, if I needed to."

"So you need to find where she is? Why is Isran not able to help?" Aeyrin asked again.

"Because for that, I need to infiltrate the Castle secretly. Areas that have long been closed off and I have no access to, by my father's words. I need to access her study," Serana explained. "If Isran were to come to the castle with me… I… I fear his hatred for the clan would rule over him. Or his desire to get Harkon's Scrolls."

"You need to infiltrate the Castle?" Bishop instantly perked up and Aeyrin had to chuckle at his reaction.

She wasn't sure why she wasn't more horrified about him clearly being eager to help Serana with this. It was a castle full of vampires! Powerful ones. Sure, there was the itch for adventure, but this surely wasn't what she meant. Somehow though, she trusted Serana after all this. She seemed so sincere all the time. It was hard not to get swayed by it. Maybe it was stupid and naïve. It did sound like an exciting idea though.

"If I'm lucky, I will avoid all the inhabitants. But I cannot have Isran with me if things go south. At least not when I go in blindly like this," Serana explained.

Bishop gave Aeyrin a questioning look. She did want to help. It was so clear that Serana could use help and maybe Aeyrin could take Isran and they could be nearby, just in case. Maybe the four of them together would be able to come up with a good plan. And the sooner Serana got the Scroll, the sooner the plans against this horrible prophecy could be figured out.

She nodded slowly at Bishop. They would come up with a sure plan that would keep him protected. This was important and Serana seemed to be too hesitant without any help. Was there something in the Castle she was wary of? Or maybe she just wanted help figuring out her mother's clues.

"I could help you," Bishop nodded at Serana. "I'm pretty good at this infiltration shit."

"He is," Aeyrin smiled a bit. "We could talk to Isran and figure out a way to do this as safely as possible. We can be your backup."

"Really?" Serana raised her brow. "I do admit, I could use the help but… are you sure? I suspect father left something guarding those places. Even if we don't run into the clansmen… this could be dangerous."

"There's always danger," Bishop shrugged. They might be able to sneak through together safely and then again, they might run into something nasty. But that was the case even when one was just walking down the road. Danger was everywhere.

"I was going to go to Isran anyway," Serana nodded. "To tell him I would be doing it alone. He would get his Scroll if I was successful. But… if you're really sure, I would be grateful for any help. And perhaps this would help me convince him that I am sincere too. He might be more at ease when someone else comes with me. To stop my evil plans, I suppose," she rolled her eyes.

"We would just need to get some supplies and we can join you," Aeyrin smiled. This was not entirely how she thought this would go. She was first going to talk to Bishop about ending their honeymoon and getting back out there, but this was important. And Bishop seemed clearly excited.

It was time to leave the serenity behind and face the real world once more.