Epilogue
The days turned to weeks and in turn those weeks bled into over a month. Serana was quiet during the first weeks and prone to moods of melancholy. During many a long day Emily would sit or lie by her side, mostly unspeaking but reassuring her by her presence, providing the warmth that was needed. They would hunt by night, leaving the confines of the city to trek through the forests, seeking out game trails and following them until they found their quarry. Most nights it was deer and they would hide downwind on the periphery of the herd, sizing up each of the beasts and taking down the one that looked to be the weakest. Where they could they would take lame ones and when one was caught they would drain it of its blood, decanting it into vessels. They would then carefully skin it and remove the antlers and eyes before carting the remains of the carcass back to the city. The pelts they would turn over to Beirand, the Castle Dour Blacksmith and the antlers and eyes would be taken back with them to Angeline's for use in alchemical mixtures. The meat they sold to Corpulus in the Winking Skeever who would pay them 4 gold for each cut of meat. All in all they could make 26 gold off of each successful kill.
Serana was more like her old self out in the forests and seemed to take some solace in the tranquility of the night air. Often as the moons reached their highest point in the night sky they would find a rocky outcropping to sit upon and watch the stars. Serana would tell Emily about each of the constellations and the predictions made of those born under them.
"What sign were you born under?" Emily asked Serana one night.
"The sign of the Ritual," Serana replied, "The 18th Morning Star."
"And what happens to those born under the sign of the ritual?" Emily asked, looking over at her companion.
"They can have a variety of abilities depending on the aspects of the Divines and the phases of the moon," Serana replied, "There was a book back home which gave all the meanings but the Ritual's meaning was always kept vague. Maybe because those abilities can take so many different forms. What about you? When were you born?"
"7th May," Emily answered, looking up at the stars, "That's the…" she counted on her fingers, "Fifth month of the year on Earth so Second Seed had I been a Tamrielic native. Which sign is that?"
"The Shadow," Serana replied, "Those born under the sign of the shadow have the ability to meld with the shadows." She chuckled then and Emily rolled over onto her side.
"What's so funny?" she asked with an impish smile, happy to hear such a sound coming from her friend.
"Sneaking isn't exactly your strong point," said Serana.
"I've got better though," Emily reminded her, "Managed to sneak up on you last night when we went down to the pond, didn't I?"
"Only because I let you," Serana replied.
"Pfft," Emily said, blowing the air through her teeth, "Now you're just making excuses."
"Your spells have got better though," smiled Serana, "You haven't summoned an unbound Daedra or frozen your hair solid in weeks."
"I did have one of Tamriel's best tutors," Emily replied, "Would you teach me more spells sometime?" This last remark earned her a warm smile from her vampiric companion.
"What kind of spell did you have in mind?" she asked.
"Can you teach me to turn invisible?" Emily asked, "Like you did when we were in the Fort." She nudged her playfully. "Then I really could sneak up on you."
"If I teach you that spell I won't know a moment's peace," said Serana. She got to her feet and offered her hand to Emily. "Come on, we'd better get back. It'll take us half the night to get this back." She gestured to the deer carcass that lay in the bushes alongside several full red bottles.
* * *
As time went by Serana gradually lost some of her melancholic air and began to help out in the shop, mixing potions and preparing ingredients.
"You've got a real knack for alchemy," Angeline remarked one afternoon as she helped her to harvest glow dust from a basket full of wisp cores brought in by an adventurer earlier that same day.
"My mother taught me," Serana replied, "Ever since I was a little girl I've been around the alchemy lab."
"Well, it certainly shows," smiled Angeline, "Was she a healer?"
"She's…an experimental alchemist," Serana replied, "You know, researching the effects of various alchemical reagents." Emily came out from behind the counter, carrying a large box of giant lichen. She set it down on the edge of the table where Serana and Angeline were working.
"She's very lucky to have you as a daughter, Serana," the old woman said. Serana didn't say much in reply but seemed suddenly distracted by something she heard outside.
"How are those wisp cores coming?" asked Emily, pulling a stool out from behind the counter and joining them at the table.
"We're almost done," Angeline replied, "Did Vivienne bring in those mandrake roots?"
"They're sitting in that barrel behind the counter," said Emily, gesturing over her shoulder at a barrel that lay nailed shut behind the counter. The insides were heavily padded to stop the initial screams escaping which would emanate from the mandrakes during the first week of being removed from the earth. Vivienne had plugged her ears with tundra cotton soaked in an infusion of motherwort and Bergamot seeds during the transfer between crate and barrel. They were a much sought after ingredient and were imported from Cyrodiil where they were commonly used as a component in curative potions.
"How about I fix us a cup of tea?" Emily offered.
"That sounds like a wonderful idea," Angeline replied.
* * *
It was late in the evening as Serana and Emily sat in their room above the shop. Emily was sewing a patch into her jeans, the tip of her tongue poking out of the corner of her mouth as she worked with needle and thread.
"Emily," said Serana, "Can we talk?"
"About what?" Emily asked, looking up from her needlework.
"About my mother," Serana replied, "I think it's time. To go back, I mean."
"Of course," said Emily.
"I feel awful that I've left it this long," Serana confessed, sitting down on the bed next to her, "I don't know. I just couldn't bring myself to think about going back there." Emily bit through the thread and set the newly patched jeans down on the bed.
"I understand," Emily replied, "There's going to be a lot of memories tied up in there, isn't there?" Serana nodded. "We'll go along tonight then," Emily continued, "Can't say I'm looking forward to seeing the Soul Cairn again though." Serana chuckled wryly.
"Nor am I," she replied. Emily got up and picked up her armour from the chair, fastening the breastplate and pulling on the greaves. She beckoned to Finn and he scampered up her arm to his usual place about her shoulders. Serana got up and took down her cloak from the peg on the back of the door. She put it on, fastening the clasp at her shoulder and picked up her pack from the bed.
"Well, I'm ready," she said to Emily, her voice carrying a tone of forced calm. Emily followed her from the room and down the stairs to the dining area. She took up a piece of paper and a quill from the desk in the corner and hastily scribbled a note to Angeline.
"Hi Angeline, Gone out for a couple of nights. Will be back soon. Will bring back some alchemy ingredients if I see any. Emily and Serana"
She set the note down on the counter before crossing the room to the front door. She took the spare key from her pocket and unlocked the door, pulling it open. A slight breeze crossed the threshold and they slipped through the open door onto the street, closing and locking the door behind them. Emily dropped the key into her pocket and they set off down the main street. The moons were shining high above the city, casting long shadows ahead of them and bathing the cobblestones in a pale russet light. The city was quiet save for the sounds of merriment drifting out through the open door of the Winking Skeever. All the shops were closed and the signs swayed back and forth, creaking slightly in the breeze. A cat yowled from one of the alleyways and was answered by another. Serana pulled her hood down over her head as they neared the city gates and the two guards in full armour standing on either side.
"A bit late to be leaving the city, isn't it?" asked one, leaning on his glaive, "It's not safe outside the walls."
"We need to go out to collect alchemy ingredients," Emily explained, "Nirn root's effects are a lot more potent if they are harvested by moonlight, you know?" It was a weak lie and Emily knew it. For a moment the guard just looked at her sternly. Then suddenly both he and his companion nodded and he called up to the guard at the gatehouse, signaling for the gates to be opened. Emily saw Serana's hand disappearing beneath the folds of her cloak, the last whispers of illusion magic playing about her fingertips.
"Using your charm, eh?" said Emily with a slight smile as the gates closed behind them. Serana pushed back her hood.
"I just couldn't risk anything holding us up," she replied. Emily heard the unease she'd tried to disguise in her voice earlier making itself evident.
"Hey, it's going to be okay," she said, one hand lingering on Serana's arm, "Before you know it we'll be crossing the border back into the Soul Cairn and riding across that ashen soil to the Boneyard. We'll go deliver the news to your mother and we can all head back together."
"And when we do," Serana replied, "Perhaps we should talk about the future?"
"Nothing would bring me greater pleasure," said Emily, squeezing her fingers gently. She held out her palm, closing her eyes and willing the purple flames into existence. With a sweeping gesture she conjured the skeletal horse who appeared before them in blazing purple light, bright lamp-like eyes fixed on them. He pawed at the earth as they got on and Emily took up the reigns.
"Come on, Arvak," she said, "To Icewater Jetty." Serana held on tight as the horse plunged off down the hill towards the coast. A tight ball of worry was forming in her stomach. It had been well over a month since her father had met his end and she felt a pang of guilt when she recalled all those days spent by the fire or in their room, idly passing the day or so she felt, when her mother was still trapped in the Soul Cairn. She briefly considered lying about the time it took to amass the forces they needed to take on her father but dismissed the notion a moment later. No, the time for lies was past. She took little notice of the journey until she felt the loose shingle beneath the horses hooves as they reached the shoreline. She saw the corpulent bodies of horkers stretched out on the sands, great sides heaving as they slept. One looked up, peering at them with beady eyes as they rode past before lying back down. The cold air whipped back her hair and carried with it the scent of brine and the cold, almost imperceptible, smell of snow. The moons still shone brightly above and it seemed that for a change the Sea of Ghosts would be clear. Emily spotted the fort first, the one that sat close to the coast, so close in fact that when the tide came in the water rushed almost up to the stone walls. She wondered at their choice of location, asking herself if they were not afraid the walls might someday crumble into the sea. As always there were guards posted at the two main entrances, golden armour glinting in the moonlight.
On past the fort they rode until they came to the weather-beaten jetty with its rotting wooden planks and the lone boat moored next to it. They got down off the horse and Serana climbed into the boat while Emily untied it from its moorings before hopping in after her. They took up the oars and began rowing out to open sea. The coastline receded behind them along with the sounds of the gulls and soon the only sound came from the wavelets lapping against the sides of the boat. The route to and from the Castle to the Jetty was one Serana knew well but tonight it seemed to drag on for much longer than was normal, almost to the point that she questioned her sense of direction.
"Do you think she'll understand?" she asked as they rowed.
"Do you think who'll understand what?" Emily asked.
"My mother," Serana replied, "Do you think she'll understand why I left it so long?"
"I would have thought so," said Emily, pulling at the oars, "She's bound to know how difficult it was for you."
"For us," Serana corrected her.
"For us then," Emily replied, "She knew it wasn't just a walk in the park. I think she'll just be glad you're alive…urrm…undead." Serana allowed herself a small smile. She looked ahead at the empty sea before them. Then all of a sudden it wasn't as the island emerged from its hidden gap in time. Moonlight glinted on the dark stone and shone on the cobblestones leading up to the keep. They guided the boat around the side of the island to the disused harbour. The waves slapped against the stone of the docks and the keening cries of the bone hawks reached their ears. Emily got out of the boat and tied it in place before holding her hand out to Serana. She took it and climbed out of the boat onto the docks.
The journey through the Undercroft to the courtyard seemed much shorter to Emily this time around now that she at least had a rough idea of the way and now that the halls and chambers were silent, devoid of all life or unlife. The gardens were still a sorry mess of tangled weeds and Emily found herself wishing she'd seen what they had been like when Valerica still tended them. Still, she reminded herself, she might yet get to see that someday. The steps leading down to the ruins were still open and they followed them down, pulling open the wooden door that lay at the bottom. Serana didn't say much as they passed through the ruins and climbed up towards the ruined tower. The rooms they passed through looked to have got even dustier in their absence and a few new cobwebs had sprung up in the corners. They saw the light of the soul cairn reflecting off the stones ahead of them before they saw the portal itself and Serana felt a surge of relief at the still operational state of the interdimensional portal. The purple flickering light danced on the walls and ceilings as they climbed the stone steps to the balcony. Emily stared down at the portal. It seemed to her a lifetime had passed since she'd last stood on the stonework, looking nervously into the swirling purple void. A lifetime since she'd felt the searing pain of the tendrils of light latching onto her, trying to rip her soul from her body and a lifetime since she'd given herself over completely and eternally to the vampiress who stood at her side. She felt now it had been someone else who had stepped through that portal from distant Norway to Skyrim, someone else who had lived up until that moment atop the portal to the Soul Cairn.
"Are you alright?" Serana asked, breaking her from her thoughts. She hadn't realised just how much she'd zoned out.
"Yeah, I'm fine," she replied, smiling at her friend, "Come on, let's go." Taking the vampiress' hand they descended the floating steps to the portal and the air about them swirled. Emily felt a downward surge as their feet left the stones and they were cast downward into the portal. Then their feet touched solid stone as a loud rumble of thunder echoed about them. A bright flash of light and they were standing on the topmost step of the Soul Cairn's entrance. The air was as still as before, the land unchanging. They saw the light coming from the tall turrets of the castle on the distant horizon. They descended the stone steps to the ashen soil where Emily once more summoned Arvak. The horse did not look particularly pleased to be back in this desolate bleak landscape and whinnied his displeasure as the two riders got on. But nonetheless he set off at their urging and followed the pale dirt track down away from the portal towards the castle. They passed by clumps of soul husks growing in the shade of the obsidian buildings, great steaming fissures from which emanated the wails of the souls damned to rest there and through the great dividing wall that separated portal side from Boneyard side. Up and down hillsides they rode, the horse's hooves churning up the ashen dust. Lightning periodically flashed across the sky, throwing the landscape into stark relief.
At last they reached the foot of the steps leading up to the Boneyard and got down from the horse. Serana took a deep breath before climbing the steps, closely followed by Emily. Her eyes scanned the area where the barrier once stood, eyes falling upon a familiar figure working at an alchemy lab built into a darkened recess.
"Mother," she said as she took a step forward. Her mother stopped midway through grinding a soul husk to dust with pestle and mortar, looking over her shoulder. When she caught sight of her daughter she dropped the pestle and mortar where they clanked onto the metal surface of the alchemy lab. Soul husk dust scattered unnoticed onto the surface as she turned hurriedly to face her daughter.
"Serana," she said, "Can it really be? Is it done?"
"It is, mother," Serana replied. Emily saw a look of relief pass over Valerica's normally stern face and she took a few steps towards her daughter. "I'm sorry I took so long to return," Serana continued, "I wanted to, really I did but-."
"That's alright," said Valerica as she stopped before Serana, "I'm just relieved you're still in one piece. That the prophecy is finally over." Emily watched and waited as mother and daughter embraced. She saw the smile on Valerica's face which seemed to in an instant life several centuries from her. She couldn't recall ever seeing the elder vampiress smile before. Her eyes fell upon Emily as she stepped back from the embrace.
"I was wrong about you," she admitted to the Earthling, beckoning her over. Emily crossed the stonework and joined them before the towering doors to the Boneyard. "You kept my daughter safe and for that I thank you," she continued.
"I wouldn't be here were it not for her," Emily replied, "I owe her my life." She caught Serana's gaze and smiled.
"And I owe you mine," Serana said, "I guess we're even then." Emily chuckled.
"What will you do now?" she asked, turning to Valerica.
"If you'll allow me to gather together my things, I believe it's time I returned to the castle," Valerica replied.
"If there's anything heavy we've got a horse waiting at the bottom of the steps," Emily offered, gesturing over her shoulder at the stone steps.
"I don't think that will be necessary," Valerica replied, "I didn't take much when I fled the castle. I'll just be a couple of minutes." And with that she crossed the stones to the tall doors, pulling one open and disappearing inside.
It seemed to Emily an immense weight had been lifted from Serana's shoulders and she leant back against one of the stone walls while she waited for her mother to return.
"Thank you," she said to Emily as she joined her by the wall, "For coming out with me."
"No problem," Emily replied, "Told you she'd understand." She felt Serana's arm about her shoulders and she laughed softly as she allowed herself to be tugged closer.
"So, the future then," said Serana. Emily looked up into her eyes and saw a twinkle she had not seen there in so long. She nodded.
"The future," she replied, "And so it begins."