Bella fidgeted in her seat, shifting often and causing the wooden legs to scrap back and forth periodically with her movement as she tried to stay focused on the tomb in her hands. She stilled for a moment when a mage cleared their throat deliberately and shot her a look, but her leg soon began to bounce restlessly. She just couldn't keep still enough to focus on the task at hand, much to the annoyance of the other patrons in the Arcanaeum that afternoon.

Bella knew what she had to do to ease her inner turmoil but was loath to. So she sat stubbornly in place and willed herself to focus on the words on the page with little success. Valgus pitied Bella in her plight, knowing very well why she stayed put in the library when she should be out.

"My lady," Valgus said as he placed a gentle hand on Bella's shaking shoulder. "Perhaps it is time for a hunt."

Reluctantly Bella agreed and she closed the book in her hands. Setting it down she was off to find Gorr, only to literally run into his chest on her way down the stairs.

"Oof. Hey Gorr." Bella said, bouncing back lightly. "I know I've been avoiding hunting…"

Through Valgus's priming that morning, Gorr had a good idea of what Bella meant to say. She hated hunts - although Gorr couldn't understand why - but Natalia's beast blood meant she'd be restless without regular blood spilling. In Gorr's mind everyone would benefit mentally from regular blood spilling.

"Heya friend, I was just coming to see if you wanted to go hunting." Gorr said.

Bella nodded in agreement and Gorr led them out of Winterhold proper and into the coastal path towards Dawnstar. Along the coast horkers and bandits roam. It seemed like a never ending supply spawned for them every time they walked this path, almost as if some unseen force willed them into existence to fill the space every time they emptied it.

The closer they ventured to Dawnstar the more likely bandit hideouts turned out to be vampire dens with thralls dressed in bandit furs guarding their den entrance. Bella still had a bad time full of inner turmoil when it came to bandit and even vampire hunting. They were just too human for her to stomach killing them with a clear conscious and bandits she tended to knock unconscious, unable to bring herself to kill them the way Gorr was ready and willing to.

They had tried old Nordic ruins full of Drauger a few times before and while Bella could stomach killing them much easier it wasn't what her beast blood called for. So she endured, finding that at least some vampires were gaunt and somewhat resembled drauger when they went without blood, making the killing easier to stomach.

The den they had stumbled upon this time had well fed vampires unfortunately. Their skin was almost rosy and alive with the fresh blood in their systems and Gorr periodically reminded Bella that they were doing a service to the innocent who were enslaved and killed by the vampires they were now killing. Bella's blood sang and her heart sank as she took down a vampire too occupied in his feast to notice her fast enough.

In the far corner of the den a vampire had his back hunched over his kill. As he straighted up to investigate the sounds of fighting Bella rounded the corner and her breath caught in her throat. He had vibrant coppery hair and broad shoulders. Bella stared at his hair in awe at the thought of finding him here but he finished turning and towards her and she saw nothing more than an average Nord vampire whose blonde hair was covered in the blood of his kill.

Disappointment and surprising anger flooded Bella as she charged the vampire. She saw red at the revelation that Edward hadn't come to save her as she had been thinking a moment ago. It was an irrational thought to begin with but that didn't stop Bella from feeling as she did.

Finally, after a few dens, Bella felt satisfied and calm and they made their way back towards the college. They hunted for meat along the way back and managed to snag a meaty horker much to Gorrs delight.

With a clearer mind Bella contemplated her reaction to thinking Edward had come to save her back in the first den. She contemplated her anger at him for not being there and how irrational it was. How on Earth was he supposed to follow her here? Why on Earth would he care to? Bella was so deep in thought she made a terrible travel companion to Gorr and she hadn't even noticed it no longer hurt to think about Edward.

Bella continued her quiet contemplation into dinner at the college and Valgus grilled Gorr about why she was quiet and uncommunicative again.

"What did you say to her?" Valgus bit at Gorr.

"Now why do you think it was me who did this to her! Maybe you should be checking her for vampire thrall. She got quiet after we finished fighting them." Gorr bit back.

"Sorry for worrying you Valgus I'm fine, really." Bella interjected. "I was just reminded of someone I knew back home, that's all."

Valgus immediately felt sympathy for Bella, assuming the resemblance came from one of those being feasted on by the vampires. "I understand my lady. It can be hard to think of those we care about meeting their end."

Bella was confused by Valgus' reaction of sympathy but just nodded politely to his comment and continued with her dinner.

That night Bella had a rare dream. She only seemed to manage a semi restful sleep right after a hunt and she didn't necessarily mind not dreaming if it meant keeping nightmares away. A rowboat sailed slowly through thick fog. On it a figure with long raven hair and a swallowed face twisted with determination rowed onward. Bella recognized the face.

She remembered the calm quartet of men, each with the exquisite face of a seraph, painted into the highest balcony overlooking the swirling mayhem of colour. She remembered the three accompanying Carlisle - Aro, Caius, and Marcus Volturi, nighttime patrons of the arts. Aro floated before her in his boat, his face much more serious than the serene expression present in Carlisle's painting.

She floated in front of him in the water to see what he kept looking over his shoulder to. There was a great, dark castle behind him. Bella recognized castle Volkihar from Natalia's memories. The image of the castle pulled her in until she was sitting in a memory of Natalia's within Valerica's study with Serana. Bella-Natalia had a journal in her hand that she closed and Bella's mouth moved of it's own accord.

"Nothing in here either." Natalia said.

"Hmm. That must mean it happened after mother fled. If it happened at all. If it did happen and he was even remotely successful that means he did manage to find a hobby not entirely related to the prophecy. Go figure."

Bella knew this memory. Natalia was dreadfully curious about a potentially Nirn-made vampire race cultivated not by a Daedra in Oblivion and released onto Nirn, but by Harkon acting as the god figure he believed himself to be.

Natalia picks up and flicks through a well worn journal. A memory of a passage floated into view as the journal in the dream blurred:

We have all awoken from our burning, some more conscious than others. Those who have trapped us here left only scraps for us to fight over. I cannot remember my life before this prison, only the name Aro and knowledge that the Sanguine curse seems different for us in this cell. I must bide my time and avoid the others ripping me to shreds before I can find freedom.

One of the Volturi was named Aro, Bella bemuses the funny coincidence as she wakes up from the dream. It's still dark and Bella knows this is the most restful sleep she will get until the next hunt. There is little else to do except lay back down and try for a little more rest until morning.