Inside the old building, I'm happy to see I'm not the only one who has problems with Skyrim's cold.
But my buoyant re-estimation of my own ability to resist the cold is short-lived--the cause of the Falmer's chilly indisposition is soon revealed.
So now I've learned two things. First, Snow Elves aren't called that for no reason. Second, there's been some confusion about the state of the first elf's brother. He wasn't captured by the Falmer, per se. Rather, it was a bit more like he's dominated them through sheer force of will and magic. For what end isn't entirely clear, but I get an inkling of it when I see his poor reaction to Serana's declaration that we've come for Auriel's Bow.
But the elf's magic just isn't enough for the combined ferocity of two ancient vampires. And now he's made one of them very angry.
It's not me. I'm actually quite calm throughout all of this, mostly because I'm too busy trying to figure out what's going on.
Serana...not so much.
I watch him fall to the rocks below while Serana takes the bow from its pedestal. She hands it to me to try it out. It's not quite my thing, as usual--these ancient tools and weapons, while having their own special properties, just don't cut it against my own handiwork.
But I'll be a sapient lizard if the thing doesn't look cool.
Anyhow, now that we've got the bow, Serana and I head back to Volkihar to deal with Lord Harkon. Nothing says "bonding" like teaming together to kill your friend's father, and Harkon doesn't miss this. Frankly, he seems more bothered by the fact that Serana is working with me than that we've walked into his sanctum with the express aim of killing him.
He makes me one last offer of joining him and working out his deranged plan, but I don't think he really understands what's at stake here. Him...or his lovely daughter?
Please.
But you don't get to be the founder of an entire daedric race by being a pushover, and Harkon proves the toughest opponent I've faced yet. How that explains Alduin's weakness, his status as firstborn of Akatosh notwithstanding, is beyond me. But again, this is Skyrim. I'm just lucky there aren't any vampire mammoths.
At some point during my cognitive deliberations, I kill the old man, with a generous amount of help from Serana. So now I'm a fratricide, and she's a patricide. We are a terrible model for good family behavior.
But that doesn't stop the rest of the vampires in Volkihar immediately pledging their loyalty to me. In a way, it reminds me of the way dragons think, although my other brothers didn't seem to think me killing Alduin qualified as a demonstration of power.
Well, they're right about that--some of them probably could have beat that old one themselves, had they guts to try. I suppose it's just a matter of their greed and caution outweighing their avarice and ambition. There's no sense explaining all this to the rest of the vampires, though--I like them meek and subservient.
Anyways, now that the castle's mine and Harkon's dead, it's safe for Serana's mother to come back. Serana seems a bit...quiet...after what we just did, so I leave her for a bit while I head back to the Soul Cairn.
It's just like I left it--flat and purple. Serana's mother hasn't budged, either, and that's just as well. Even with my trusty skelahorse by my side--or under me, rather--I don't relish running around that twisted hellscape for any longer than I have to.
Strangely, though, after reuniting Serana and her mother, I don't feel like everything's quite done. Can this really be it? We got the bow and killed another ancient threat to Skyrim, but I feel like something's still missing, like there's some loose end to tie up. I express this to Serana and she's not too helpful. She still keeps giving me weird looks and I'm having a harder time reading her than usual. "Come on," I want to say. "This can't be it. We can't just part ways after all that!"
Normally, I would have repressed these feelings and vented on a few Stormcloaks. But now I have friends to talk to. Also, I think I killed all the Stormcloaks.
The two women really hit it off over drinks--since Serana's kind of a model of good behavior among vampires, Lisin seems unperturbed by my change. But then she takes me aside. "Because you're too stupid to figure this out yourself and I don't like seeing her wait," she says, "I'm just going to tell you straight. So listen."
I can't hold in my snort of amusement and she gives me a hard stare before continuing. "Serana has feelings for you."
Oh, that's what all those lingering looks were for. I thought she was trying to tell me to get out of the way or clean my quills or something. But I guess you can't spend that much time with someone and not develop an attachment to them. Maybe I feel the same way toward her. Truth be told, I'd gotten so used to having her by my side I kind of forgot what it would be like not having her. And I don't like the thought of it.
Okay: long story short, Serana says yes.
Like true vampires, we schedule the wedding for three in the morning, which leaves the temple embarrassingly empty and me with almost no time to scramble together something more formal than my armor. I settle on some robes I took off the body of a dead vampire and Vittoria's wedding band. I don't care that it was made for a woman. That I killed. At her wedding. It's what she would've wanted, anyways.
Besides, Lisin's here and not saying anything, so I must be doing something right.
Although I can't account for the other two guests. I think one of them is the elf who helped me deal with Asura's Star, but I draw a blank on the other guy for a few minutes. About halfway through the ceremony, it hits me--he's Jarl Blackbriar's seneschal or advisor or something, probably sent here to make sure I don't nick anything.
So it's a pretty ordinary wedding.
Serana and I wait behind while everyone else heads back to their beds. There's a bit of an awkward silence between us. I wonder if I've acted rashly. I mean, Serana said yes, so this can't have been wrong, right? We enjoy each other's company, and we're both immortal, so there's no conflict there. I mean, I really do like her. Love her, even, if someone as violent and confused as me can do that. It's just...what do I do now? Was this how I felt after killing Alduin? Listless and alone?
"But that's just it!" I say, jumping to my feet. Serana yelps in surprise but I keep thinking out loud. She's used to this by now or she'd better be.
I felt alone all those months ago because I was alone. That's what I'd made myself from day one of leaving Windhelm. I'd defined myself first as a vengeful slave, then as a principled mercenary, and then as a dragon. In none of those times did I ever leave room for myself to actually relate to someone, to be a person defined by a relationship. And now I can be that person. I have a relationship that's as much a part of me as my Thu'um or the wings I wish I had!
Serana raises her eyebrows at me. "Are you done?"
I turn to her. "Yes," I say. "I'm done."
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