Elayn followed Serana on two legs, out of the castle and over the bridge that she could still remember being dragged across half-senseless. Trailing behind them was one of Harkon's guards, bearing a scent she did not recognize, and she put its existence out of her mind as best she could. They were on a mission, searching for a component for Serana's spell, and that was what she would focus on.

Elsewise there was always the stars above to keep them company. It was a rare, cloudless night and she could see the expansive fields of glimmering lights so much more clearly than she could in the castle.

In an effort to ignore the hulking brute looming behind them, Elayn asked, “So your mother, what's she like?”

Serana was quiet for a moment as she considered the question. “Very stern,” she said finally. “She expected a lot from me while I was growing up, and even though I usually met her expectations, it could be a lot.” She sighed. “Honestly, I miss her scolding.”

Unable to relate, Elayn snorted. “You want your mother to yell at you again? I'd pay anything to get the ringing from mine out of my ears.”

“Your mother shouted at you?” she asked, glancing at the werewolf curiously over her shoulder.

Sensing that Serana was about to ask about her past, she hedged. “Something like that.”

“I don't mean to pry, but--” Why did people always say that when prying was exactly what they meant to do?

Elayn sighed and gave in. “My home growing up wasn't happy. My parents were at the bottom of the pack, and they took it out on me. I got out of there just after my fourteenth summer.”

It was quiet between them for a moment before Serana said, “Thank you for telling me,” and it sounded like, “Sorry for making you.”

“It's fine,” she said, and was a bit shocked to find it wasn't a lie that crossed her tongue. “I don’t…” She tried again. “I’m not used to telling people about my past, but I don’t mind sharing a little.”

Elayn looked up from her feet-- their footing was getting treacherous-- and at Serana, who was smiling at her, and suddenly the tops of her ears were burning. She looked away again, but there was a lightness in her chest that wasn’t there before.

Eventually their path took them to a jagged opening in the ridge that sloped down into a cave. Before she could go in herself, their guard uttered a low, rumbling growl and took point, sniffing the air for signs of a threat. When it came back out, it was silent, and Serana went down into the cave with her hand flickering with purple light. She came back with a bundle of knotted roots in her hand, and back they went to the castle.

It took some more reading and assembling of various ingredients but soon they were standing in front of a giant brazier and ready to proceed.

“I’m not sure what’s going to happen when we go through the portal,” she told Elayn. “But be prepared for anything.”

The werewolf had given her a look that said she wasn’t concerned and bounced the weight of her length of metal in her hand.

She cast ingredients into the fire and murmured incantations for the better part of a quarter of an hour until, finally, a brilliant bar of hellish red light sprang up before them and widened into a doorway that stank of sulfur even to her nose.

“Abandon all hope, ye who enter here,” she murmured, and strode through the doorway.

It burned as the light passed over her skin, but it was a sensation that quickly pass as she entered a space that was noticeably hotter. The air was heavier too, and she was glad not to need to breathe. A few steps inside she stopped, turning to see how Elayn was faring.

Not well, she could see when she looked. The werewolf was doubled over, grasping her knees, and breathing heavily. Serana started for her to see if she was alright, only to be stalled by a raised hand.

“I'm alright,” she panted. “That just hurt.”

Soon she stood upright and glanced around, her lip curled. “This place is Hell?”

Serana looked around. They were standing in a corridor of red rough-hewn stone that stretched on ahead for a good while before it looked to turn left and right. There were torched on the wall burning a sullen red that lit the area well enough for even a human to see reasonably.

“Looks like,” she said. “Now how do we find my mother?”

“If there aren't any vampires around…” Elayn trailed off and sniffed the air. “Maybe I can hunt her down.”

Serana was grateful for the suggestion, as she hadn't planned that far ahead. “Let's explore a little and see if you come across a scent.”

Following the corridor to the right ended in a locked door, so they backtracked and went the other way. This hallway featured doors as well, to the left and right, dotting the otherwise mostly blank wall at random. They kept walking on until Elayn stopped abruptly and sniffed the air.

“This way,” she said, and took off down a fork in the hallway.

Serana followed her at a swift clip, as the scent led her further through the twisting hallways until they came across a door that was exactly like all the others.

“Are you sure?”

Elayn answered by gesturing at the door wordlessly. Serana shrugged and reached out to knock on the door.

“Hello?” There was a woman's voice behind the door. “Who is there?”

“Mother!” Serana became frantic at the sound of her voice and tried the door-- locked. “Where is the key? How do I get you out of here?”

“Calm yourself child,” her mother said in the voice of one who is used to being obeyed. “There's no way for me to leave here. The key is in the possession of a mighty demon, andI am bound by powers beyond you.”

“What?” Something inside her broke, bringing tears to her eyes. “But-- Mother--”

“Hush. There are things I must tell you.” Bright gold eyes bored into hers from behind bars. “Your father has gone mad, he must be stopped. I bound myself here so that he could not use the knowledge I possess to create his gate, but that won't stop him for long.”

“What am I supposed to do?” she sobbed. “He has the whole of his court at his back, and his creatures too. There is no chance.”

“There is,” her mother said firmly. “Disrupt the ritual, he will not be able to move to stop you. Do that, and the backlash of energy will be enough to destroy him.”

Serana could feel Elayn behind her, watching, but she ignored her. At the moment all she cared about was that she wanted nothing more than for her mother to hold her, and she was barred by the door. “I can't--”

“You must,” her mother said fervently. “For the good of our kind, he must be stopped. Will you do this?”

What else could she say? “Yes, Mother.”

“Good.” There were heavy, thudding footsteps down the hall, and her eyes widened. “You must go, quickly, before the Guardian realizes you're here.”

“But there's so much I need to ask you!”

“Go!”

“C'mon Serana,” Elayn said, grabbing her wrist. “We've got to get out of here.”

Serana let her drag them down the halls in the opposite direction of the booming footsteps. She wasn't sure how the werewolf was so sure of where they were going, but she ran in a direct enough way that she certainly did seem to.

Ah right, her nose.

They made it back without incident and dove through the portal. Serana grabbed a pot of earth and threw it over the brazier. As the fire died, so did the portal, and the last thing she saw was a hulking monster coming around the corner, stooped so it's horns didn't drag the ceiling.

“Well,” said Elayn, lying on the stone floor. “That was interesting.”

Serana couldn't help it, she laughed. The noise almost startled her. “Quite bracing. At least we learned something.” And knowing where her mother was, even trapped, took weight off her shoulders she hadn’t even realized she was carrying.

The werewolf rolled over and sat up cross-legged. “Right, how we're supposed to bump your father's elbow while he handles terrifying magic to take over the world. Easy stuff.”

Serana sniffed the air. “It will be daylight soon. We should go to bed.”

“Aye,” she said, getting to her feet.

They went back to Serana's room and she got ready for bed. When she turned around to get under the covers, she saw Elayn standing there, head lowered.

“Elayn?”

“Can you take off the collar?” she asked.

“Of course.”

When she did, the werewolf surprised her by changing shape to four legs and then surprised her further by jumping onto her bed and curling up at the end. She rested her muzzle on her flank and eyed Serana as if daring her to say anything.

She did not, just smiled and got under the covers. As a vampire, she didn't get cold enough for discomfort, but the heat radiating off the body at her feet was nice as she slept.