It was a dark, cold and windy night. The trees stood billowed casting eerie shadows in the light of Secunda. The wind whistled through the blades of grass protruding from the grubby Earth. Footsteps could be heard, a distance away at first but gradually approaching closer and closer. One of the walkers shuffled their feet as they walked, their boots scraped along the mud.

"A mortal as a Vampire Lord?" questioned one of them. The voice belonged to a woman. A woman with a quiet rasping voice.

"Give it a rest," hissed the other voice, also a woman. "There's nothing you can do about it, so stop complaining."

"That Serana," said the first voice. "Choosing to marry a mortal. Such a traitor."

The other person decided to ignore this last comment.

There was a rusting in the bushes. The second woman held out her arm to stop her comrade. Her comrade collided with her open arm and gave her a scornful look. The second woman pointed to a small scrub of trees in front of them. She drew her Ebony sword and prepared herself for a battle. Her comrade raised her hands and readied Vampiric Drain and Chain Lightning.

"Who's there?" asked the woman armed with a sword.

"I smell something," hissed the first woman.

"Humans?" asked the sword carrier. She licked her lips, two large fangs could been seen as her tongue lapped her lips.

"No," replied the spell wielder. "Something bigger."

The sword carrier sniffed the air. The trees in the scrub shook. The spell wielder cast the detect life spell. The magic illuminated the creature in a glow of red light.

"There's something in those trees," she said quietly.

The twosome stopped and stood stock still, looking into the trees.

"Come out little creature," said the sword wielder. "We promise we won't hurt you."

The spell wielder smiled, showing her fangs. She licked her lips at the prospect of blood.

"Yes," she said. "You can trust us."

A pair of yellow eyes fixed their gaze on them. Unblinking they focused. The creature issued a growl.

Without warning it pounced. A huge creature with black fur leapt from the trees. It landed on the sword wielder. There was a blood curdling scream as the creature ripped her to shreds in seconds with its huge claws. The sword wielder screamed as her friend was torn apart. The creature roared loudly. The woman lunged at the creature. She slashed at it. It tore an opening in its chest. The creature roared in pain.

The creature lunged at her as she backed away. She lunged at it at again. The creature blocked her attack. She lunged again. It blocked once more. She fired chain lightning at it. The creature roared in pain. It grabbed her neck. The woman screamed as her face reflected in those terrifying yellow eyes. Drool showered her face as the creature roared. It threw her bodily. She landed with a crack. Her hard landing on the rock broke her neck, ending her life.

The creature roared once more, rearing up on its hind legs. A victory roar. It then descended back onto all fours before tearing off into the forest again. The two woman lay dead on the ground, both of them bleeding out on the mud. The Ebony sword lay abandoned several feet away. The light of Secunda illuminated the red eyes of their dead owners.

A daedric arrow slammed into a stuffed straw man. There were several target boards painted on the head, chest and limbs of this straw man. He was also carrying a pathetic wooden shield.

"Who ever heard of a Vampire archer?" asked a young woman. Her hair colour was a deep jet black. Her eyes glowed a bright scarlet. She looked no older than around late teens.

"Shut up Lucinda," replied the Vampire holding the bow and arrow. She, like the other girl had bright scarlet eyes. Her hair, despite being black was not as dark as Lucinda's. Instead there was evidence of a red twinge to it. "How about I fire this arrow through your eye and see if Vampires are truly immortal?"

Lucinda drew her Elven Longsword and pointed it menacingly at the other Vampire.

"You can try Valeria," said Lucinda. "But I will paint our castle walls in your blood."

"Girls!" called a male voice. They looked over to see Stefan entering the room. "What is the matter with you two?"

They looked over to their father. Lucinda lowered her sword.

"Sorry father," they said in unison.

"Apologise to each other," he said sternly folding his arms. "You are sisters, there's no reason for this hostility."

They looked at each other. They muttered a hurried apology to each other.

"That's better," he said.

He took a seat behind them. Valeria loaded another arrow from her quiver into her bow. She took aim and fired. The arrow cleaved through the air and landed dead centre of the target in the head.

"Good shot," praised Stefan.

"I don't understand why we have to learn to fight with mortal weapons," said Lucinda checking out her Elven sword. "We are Vampires. We can just fire spells at them."

"It's important to learn how the mortals fight," said Stefan. "It could be advantageous in a battle. Especially when you have several coming at you at once."

Serana entered the room carrying a letter.

"There you are," she said. "I was looking for you."

He stood up as she approached him.

"What is it my ravishing Vampire Queen?" he asked.

Serana kissed him and placed a sealed letter in his hand.

"A letter came for you," she said.

He stroked her hair softly.

"Thank you," he said. He kissed her once more and glanced at the letter. There was a wax seal from the Cyrodiil Vampyrum Order. He broke the seal and began to read the letter.

"Cyrodiil," said Stefan as he read. He read the contents of the letter. He then handed to Serana. She took it and read it. Her face changed from puzzlement to concern.

"Oh goodness," she said covering her mouth in horror. "That's terrible."

Stefan put his arm around her and comforted her.

"I must travel to Cyrodiil tonight," informed Stefan refolding the letter. "They will need my council."

"But the Order isn't part of Skyrim," said Serana. "Why is it your business?"

"They were killed in The Reach," said Stefan. "That makes it my business."

He hugged Serana tightly. He could sense she was concerned.

"Don't worry Serana," he said. "I will be back before the sun rises."

"It's not the sun I'm concerned about Stefan," said Serana. "It's the creature that killed those Vampires."

She looked up at him. He gave her a reassuring smile and kissed her hair. She then turned to look at her two daughters Lucinda and Valeria.