I should not have come here.

"I'll never tell you anything. My oath to Stendarr is stronger than any suffering you can inflict on me." The vigilant looked at the two vampires towering over him. Despite his position, bloodied and on his knees the man looked as proud as ever. The two others scoffed down at him.

I believe you, Vigilant. And I don't think you even know what you've found here. So go and meet your beloved Stendarr." One of the vampires, a Nord, drew his sword and plunged it down through the collarbone of the Vigilant in a movement so casual it made Arven's stomach flip.

Oh, I really shouldn't have come here.

Despite the voice in his head, the Imperial Dawnguard warrior remained crouched on the ledge above the two vampires. Most of the cave had been straightforward to this point. A few skeletons and vampire fledglings, ones too weak and new to the blood to be any real threat. The only powerful vampire was severely weakened by a gigantic spider which left him unable to put up much of a fight at all.

The two vampires continued to bicker, one of them called Lokil with a few other names thrown about. After slaying the Vigilant they both approached the ancient ruins – ones with architecture unlike any that Arven had seen in modern years. Studying the two, they seemed stronger than the other's he'd already killed. That could be a problem.

Remaining crouched on the upper ledge, Arven pulled out the scroll he'd recovered seconds ago. A Fire Storm scroll. He had no idea why no one else had picked it up, it almost seemed to convenient. He'd be a fool not to make the most of it however. While not the most skilled in destruction as he favoured restoration and melee combat even a warrior knew how much damage even one scroll could cause.

As the two vampires crossed the bridge back to the ruins Arven began to chant. Instead of the magicka coming from his body, he felt it surging within the scroll as his fingertips grew hot underneath his plated gauntlets. His voice grew louder, eventually alerting the two vampires. But, by the time they figured out what the stranger had done, it was too late for them.

A torrent of fire surrounded the two vampires, searing flames licking at their skin as the temperature rose well into the hundreds within seconds. The entire cavern was lit up in a single moment. Their screams were almost drowned out by the cascading flames as they burnt, both vampires flailing and running back out, towards where Arven was now standing.

After he'd cast the spell Arven descended the steps while drawing his sword; a unique Daedric artefact given to him by Meridia. Dawnbreaker let off a gentle light from its blade which grew stronger as it approached the two burning undead. The first vampire didn't even notice the new face until the moment Arven's sword had severed the head clean from the body, a holy light cauterizing the wound immediately as it seared any undead flesh it came into contact with. The other, Lokil somehow managed to draw his own weapon before frantically lunging forward with a blood-curdling scream.

Stepping up with one-foot Arven raised his shield using its edge to smash Lokil in the face. After staggering the undead Arven then gave him the same treatment as the other vampire – a head cut cleanly from the shoulders.

After both of the fiends were slain, the warrior still stood in place for a few moments longer with his shield raised, surveying his surroundings. His heart beat like crazy, over and over each second until finally he let out a deep breath and relaxed. The cavern was empty, as far as he could tell.

"Fucking hell, I hate vampires." Muttering to himself the man wiped the flat of his blade on his arm, removing the blood before returning it to its sheath and resting his shield across his back. With a grunt he leaned against the railing to one side of the platform he stood on, reaching behind to unfasten a potion he quickly drank. It tasted foul, but he wasn't going to risk catching a disease from anything in the cavern, let alone a vampire.

After catching his breath and composing himself, Arven approached the ancient ruins still searching for whatever it was that the vampires thought they had found. As he got closer the layout became clear, braziers all laid out around a central pedestal. As he passed a skeleton sprawled out on the floor, he drew his sword and plunged the tip into the skull in his stride. Seemingly dead creatures had gotten the better of him before, and he had no desire to repeat that experience.

Approaching one of the braziers Arven gave it a solid push. Nothing happened. It didn't even budge.

"Okay. Grooves in the floor, handles, but you don't move." Giving the brazier a solid kick instead, partially to see if he could make it budge and partially from frustration, he simply ended up walking away with a slight limp. After trying another brazier and getting the same result he approached the platform in the middle and lay a hand on the top, where a button seemed to be placed. At least, he thought it was a button.

Alright, what's the worst that could happen?

He pushed down, and a spike drove through his hand.

"SHIT! Fucking hells." Recoiling immediately from the pedestal a soft yellow light radiated from his hand, the wound slowly closing over as the entire platform he stood on was illuminated in an eerie, somewhat beautiful purple glow. The glow lined up with the grooves on the floor, always passing through the braziers.

Right, okay. Kid's puzzle. Did the vampires really not figure this out?

A few minutes later with a sore, yet healed hand and the final brazier locked into place, the entire cavern seemed to rumble as the floor beneath Arven started to shift about. The centre pedestal seemed to turn into a stone pillar of sorts, the floor around it being depressed enough to grant comfortable access to the pillar.

How ominous. Well, can't go this far and back out now.

Drawing his sword and shield once more the Imperial approached the pillar with Dawnbreaker levelled horizontally, tip aimed directly forward. He didn't know what to expect, but considering that vampires were after it he knew that it'd be nothing but trouble.

Oh, how right he was.

All it needed was a light tap from his shield and the 'door' to the pillar gave way. Arven crouched down, shield up as he expected almost anything. Magic, a trap, some mega draugr-vampire hybrid. Instead, he got a woman.

A woman that fell directly onto him. As she stumbled Arven barely had time to point his blade away, opening his arms to catch her before she ended up sprawled across the floor.

"Woah, hey! Are you alright?" Arven said, shaking his shield off of his hand in order to give the woman some more support. In response the woman looked up to him with bright yellow eyes, her wine-red hair obscuring half of her face.

"Unh… where is… who sent you here?" said the woman. As she looked up at him, Arven felt his breath catch.

Gods, she's beautif- wait, fangs?!

The second he realised Arven pushed her back with his left hand, forcing the woman back against the stone pillar. She would've fallen back into her tomb of sorts but the gigantic scroll on her back blocked her from doing so. As soon as there was some distance between them Arven held onto Dawnbreaker with both hands, tip aimed directly at the vampire's face.

"Woah, that is not the way I was hoping to be woken up! Who are you?" said the woman who seemed far too relaxed considering her current situation. In response Arven tightened his grip on his sword before speaking.

"Who were you expecting?"

"I was expecting someone… like me, at least." As she spoke, the woman raised a single finger up to the blade. She went to push it down, but recoiled once the blade singed her skin.

"Ow! Can you put that thing down? I'm not sure if you realise but waking up to a sword in your face isn't the most enjoyable way to start your day," she said, still seeming completely unthreatened.

"Every vampire I've ever met has tried to eat or kill me, or both. You'll have to forgive me if I'm not exactly trusting of you," Arven replied, inching the blade closer to the woman.

"Look, I'm really tired and I have no idea what's going on. Please just relax a bit?"

Well, she has a point. She'd hardly be a threat in her current state… wait, no! What am I thinking?

Shaking his head, Arven replied. "Nope, no deal."

That seemed to annoy the woman as she frowned, folding her arms across her chest.

"Charmer, aren't you? Who even sent you?" she asked.

"The Dawnguard. They'd want me to kill you on the spot."

"Not fond of vampires, are they?"

"Sure, you could say that." As he continued to look the woman in the eyes Arven couldn't shake an incredibly strong feeling of unease, his stomach feeling like a pit.

"Well look. Kill me, you've killed one vampire. But if people are after me, there's something bigger going on. I can help you find out what that is," she said. As she spoke the vampire idly drummed her fingers on her upper arm.

"What makes you so special, anyway?" Arven asked. In response the woman turned to the side, pointing to the scroll on her back.

"How many other vampires have you seen with an Elder Scroll on their back?" The tone she used was one of the most condescending Arven had ever heard, but once he realised what she was carrying he finally dropped his weapon.

"Wait, what? Where'd you get that?" Arven asked, taking half a step back. He knew about Elder Scrolls, but he didn't trust them. He'd heard about the things they could do, supposedly. None of it really made any sense to him.

The woman shuffled on the spot, seeming somewhat awkward. "It's… complicated. I can't really talk about it. I'm sorry."

Sorry? Why is she apologising all of a sudden?

Finally, Arven decided to ask the most important question.

"Why were you locked away like this?" A long period of silence fell over the pair, the woman looking to the ground before replying.

"That's… complicated. And I'm not totally sure if I can trust you. The sword pointing doesn't really inspire friendship. But, if you want to know the whole story, help me get back to my family's home." After speaking she looked up, locking eyes with the Dawnguard soldier.

Something is… different, about this one. At least she hasn't tried to bite me yet.

"…Alright. Just don't try anything reckless," Arven said, still holding his sword at his side although he kept the tip pointed to the ground.

"I was going to say the same thing to you," the woman replied. She brushed her hair out of her face, those yellow eyes piercingly bright in the dim light of the cave. "My family used to live on an island to the west of Solitude. I would guess they still do. By the way… my name is Serana. Good to meet you." After speaking Serana held out her hand, her other hand resting on her hip as she waited for a reply.

Okay, what kind of vampire wants to shake my hand? This is all sorts of… wrong.

Despite his thoughts Arven extended his hand, clasping Serana's in a firm handshake.

"Arven," he said, leaving it at that.

After a slightly awkward silence between them the two broke eye contact. Arven dropped to one knee and picked up his shield while Serana took a few steps, raising her arms high above her head as she stretched. In doing so, she caught Arven's eye.

Good God, she's gorgeous. Shame about the whole bloodsucking bitch thing.

"So…," Arven said, standing up and looking around. "Any idea how to get out of here?"

"Your guess is as good as mine," she replied. "This place looks pretty different from when I was locked away. Which way did you come in?"

Arven pointed back over his shoulder. "That way, through some old caves."

"Well, why don't we head back out there?"

"Nah. These caves always loop around at the end, and I get the feeling we're near the end of it." Raising his arm, Arven pointed in the opposite direction – a bridge connected to the other side of the platform they were on.

"Uh, I'm not so sure about that," Serana said. "What if we hit a dead end?"

"Never happens. They always loop around."

"That's ridiculous."

Arven just shrugged in response, then he started walking off in the direction he chose. Serana just shook her head.

"You better be right about this," she said.

"Don't worry," Arven said. "Out of curiosity though, how long were you in there? Surely caves can't change that much."

"Good question," she responded. "Hard to say. I… I can't really tell. I feel like it was a long time." She paused for a moment, appearing deep in thought for a few seconds that seemed to drag on forever. "Who is Skyrim's High King?"

Arven let out a brief laugh. "That's actually a matter for debate," he said.

"Oh, wonderful. A war of succession. Good to know the world didn't get boring while I was gone. Who are the contenders?" As they walked Serana stayed a few paces behind, her stride incredibly relaxed with a long blade strapped to her waist. Her demeanour was the polar opposite of the Imperial in front of her, sword and shield always raised and ready.

"The Empire supports Elisif, but there are many in Skyrim loyal to Ulfric," Arven said.

"Empire? What… what Empire?" Serana said, making Arven stop in his tracks. He turned to face her, peering through his helmet.

"The… Empire. From Cyrodiil," he said slowly, enunciating every word.

Serana's eyes widened. "Cyrodiil is the seat of an empire?" For the first time since they'd met, Serana looked visibly worried. "I must have been gone longer than I thought…" Shaking her head, she started walking again – overtaking Arven as she peered through the darkness in search of an exit. "Please, let's hurry. I need to get home so I can figure out what's happened."

The Empire has been around for… hundreds of years by now. How old is she? Arven shook his head, quickly catching up with her.

"Hey," he said, trying to catch her eye. "The Empire has been around for a long time."

Serana didn't respond, only quickening her pace.

"Are you… okay?"

"What, is the little vampire hunter worried about me? That's sweet," she said. Her voice seemed even more sarcastic than usual.

"What can I say. Any vampire is dangerous in the best of moods, let alone when they're angry or upset," Arven said."

"How touching."

Just as Arven was about to respond the sound of stone cracking echoed around the cavern. He looked around in the dim light, raising his shield just in time as a gargoyle jumped from the shadows and crashed into his shield head-on. He let out a yell in defiance as he held his shield out in front of him, his sword-hand pushing to try and fend off the gargoyle as it made him slide back through the dirt.

As the weight of the beast threatened to push him down, claws swiping past the shield to try and catch him he heard the sound of a second gargoyle coming to life.

Shit. She's probably far too tired to defend herself, and she has answers.

With a loud cry of defiance Arven dug his heels into the ground and pushed, slamming his shield into the face of the beast. Sending the gargoyle reeling he then swung with his sword, slicing the claw that came swiping at him before burying his sword into the chest of the creature.

With a kick to separate his sword from the gargoyle he swung around, looking for Serana or the other creature so he could step in before anything happened. Instead of finding the vampire fighting off the attacker, he found her standing idly by with one hand on her hip, sparks dancing between the fingers on her other hand.

Wait, what?

Looking further away he saw the other gargoyle. It was entirely lifeless, scorch marks on its chest that arced along its entire body. Not only that but its arm had been cleanly blown off, along with a chunk of its torso.

"Are you alright? You seemed to struggle a bit there," Serana said with an infuriatingly cocky expression.

"Yeah, fine. You… What?" Lost for words he simply pointed at Serana, then at the gargoyle she'd dispatched. He was thankful for his helmet as he knew his expression would look utterly ridiculous.

In response Serana just flicked her fingers, sparks of electricity dancing from her fingertips before dissipating into the air.

"Please, it's one gargoyle. Can we keep moving, now?" she said.

"…Sure," Arven replied.

Well, I'm an idiot, Old vampire, strong vampire. One and the same, and she's old.

As Serana walked off Arven caught himself staring for a moment, and she noticed.

"Yes?" She said.

"You're old, aren't you. Like, really old," he asked.

Her expression deadpanned. "These… Dawnguard don't really teach you how to speak properly, do they?"

Arven shrugged. "I can shout pretty well."

"What a useful skill. Thanks."

If only you knew.

The rest of the journey through the cave was mostly uneventful. A few more gargoyles came along the way although they were in plain enough view that Arven could put them to rest the moment they broke free. He wasn't about to look weak again, especially in front of a vampire. Should she decide to turn against him, he wanted her to have second thoughts of her own safety.

Serana idly made a comment about the air feeling heavy, whatever that meant.

A few draugr came out as they always did. They posed no threat. Any Dawnguard member could handle the undead, and the draugr were usually the weakest of the lot. Surprisingly enough a Word Wall was in the back end of the cave system, for some reason. Arven approached, absorbing the information.

"What are you doing?" Serana asked when she noticed him dragging his fingers gently across the stone.

"Oh, nothing. I'm just a fan of old carvings like this," Arven replied, inhaling deeply to absorb the knowledge.

"Can you even read that?"

"Not really."

I mean it's technically true. I don't know what it means literally, but I can still use it.

An hour or so after they had met the pair emerged out the back end of the cave and Serana saw the world for the first time in hundreds of years.

"Ah, it's so good to breathe again!" Serana said, stepping out and looking up as snow gently fell upon her face. "Even in this weather, it's better than the cave."

"Anything beats a tomb," Arven said.

"You sure know how to brighten a conversation, don't you?"

Once again, Arven shrugged.

"Alright then. Which way is home?" Serana asked, looking around as the moon shone down brightly upon the land.

"No idea. Let's walk until we find a road and go from there. I've got a map." Arven said before he started walking in a random direction.

Serana paused for a moment, but unable to come up with a better solution she started following.

"By the way," Arven said. "Told you so."

"Pardon?"

"About the cave. It looped around. Told you."

Serana shook her head. "You're an idiot."

Beneath his helmet, Arven couldn't help but smile just a little.

Hey, thanks for reading! So, I started another playthrough of Skyrim and decided to write as I go with the Dawnguard questline. Just your average vampire-hating warrior getting thrown into a quest way over his head. He is the Dragonborn, although he's much less open about it than you might expect.

This is pretty much just a little side-project but I hope you enjoy it! For reference, Serana's appearance is based off the Seranaholic v1.4 mod.