Bishop watched as she climbed the tower to the upper keep and the roof. He had noted the barely hidden fatigue from the previous battle, and the despair at the thought of another tomorrow written on her face. Her eternally beautiful face, framed by a raven black waterfall he loved to touch. He cursed silently again for ever falling for her. The pain in his heart made him curse every part of her, and the realization he had come to within seconds of his epiphany. She loved another. She acted so polite and wonderfully charming around Casavir, and around him she was curt, biting and playful. He couldn't tell what was her and what was the tease in her. He believed wholly that she was not being honest with him, and that she just considered him sport. But he needed to know. He moved to follow her, without noticing a missing presence.
"My Lady"
Elyssa turned around, to find Casavir there. She sighed mentally. She had wanted to be alone, or at least in the company of someone who didn't bore her. She remembered to compose herself, and begin the tireless act she had for Casavir. She couldn't stand him, so acted polite around him. It wasn't her, and she had hoped he would be able to tell this from her tete-a-tetes with every other companion. Trading insults with Qara. Drinking matches with Khelgar. Games of skill and trading secrets with Neeshka. Her long conversations with Elanee on nature, discussing the advantages and disadvantages of everything. Her constant reprimands to her Uncle Duncan. Her talks with Grobnar, and the way she constantly helped him with the Construct. Her games of wit with Sand, and her lessons in the Art as well. Ammon Jerro and her shared knowledge on their various encounters with demons and the like. Zhajeve and her spoke on the subjects of home and the planes. This was her. She was only ever polite and reserved to people she felt like ignoring, but knew she couldn't. A love-sick paladin who wouldn't say anything about it only bugged her, one that couldn't even tell she was acting annoyed her even more. Another thought crossed her mind.
Love. She thought on this word and immediately realised someone she had forgotten from her list of people she never acted around. The one person she was completely honest with. Bishop. The man she had quite irrationally fell for. She wished he was here right now. She didn't know if he felt the same way, and in some ways she didn't care. She loved to flirt with him. Tease him. They always had a banter, traded insults, had battles of wit, and yet remained mysteries to each other. It was how they worked. She smiled at the memory, and noticed Casavir begin to fidget. She groaned mentally at the reason behind this. He must have thought she was smiling at him. She remembered the way Bishop acted whenever she smiled at, praised or complimented him. He just grunted and turned away, or made a remark. She had seen flickers in his amber eyes of something, but she never dared herself to hope this was love. She had worked out he respected her, he treated her equally and differently, but this he had told her. Casavir coughed and moved to stand before her. She smiled, while secretly frowning. Now if only it was Bishop there....
Bishop moved to the door frame before he noticed the presence of Casavir. His aura was there before his smell. He frowned. He even smelled of self-righteousness. He slipped out onto the roof and hid in the shadows. Casavir was standing in front of her, and she was smiling at him. Yet he noticed something, something off, that he had never really noticed before. It never reached her eyes, there was no twinkle, no spark, just frustration. Yet her voice was smooth and honeyed, as if she needed to be polite, as if she felt obliged to be. He listened eagerly, hoping to hear something interesting, or if not, then a chance to speak with her. He hadn't built up this courage for nothing.
"May I speak with you, My Lady?" Casavir ventured, the nervousness behind his voice apparent.
"Of course, Casavir, but please be brief, I was hoping to enjoy the night" She stayed completely blank to him, eyes far off, as if her thoughts were more interesting, yet always maintaining the face, never letting it slip. This surprised Bishop. Perhaps she was not as oblivious to Casavir's advances as he thought, though he always wondered why she acted like that around him, so different to what everyone else saw. He saw in her now what he had always liked about her, the real ability to be herself, even if it was in her head, like a wolf among the sheep. He smirked in the shadows as the play continued.
"I will go straight to the point then", Elyssa braced herself for the tirade coming. It wasn't a tirade, to her greatest surprise, but it's content didn't come to her as a surprise. "I must tell you that I have come to admire you greatly, so far as to say that I love you, and no matter what, I will always love you" Casavir's face was so serious, so stern as he spoke such fanciful words of love, it made her wanted to laugh, even Bishop saw the twitch in her eyes as she tried not to. But he was jealous. Casavir had gotten so close to her. He was holding her hand,, caressing it, and she did nothing to stop him. This was completely different to how he was treated, she wouldn't have let him get that close, choosing instead to distance him, wise to be sure. He couldn't get the sharp icy blade of envy to remove itself from his brain. If he told her, would she repulse him?
It was her next words that strengthen his resolve.
"Though I am honoured by your feelings, I am hardly deserving of them, I cannot return them. My heart belongs to another" She smiled sadly at him, and then spoke softly, removing her hand from his caress, only just noticing it she'd been that far away. "Could you leave me to my thoughts now?", she turned her head slightly to the starry sky, wishing to be at peace, or perhaps to reflect a little more.
"Before I leave, even though you may not return them, I will swear an oath to protect you with my life, if need be, so my conscience is clear" and with that Casavir bowed reverently, a pained look across her stern face and walked to the stairs, stiffly, shattered pieces of his falling as he walked. When Elyssa was sure that Casavir was out of earshot, she sighed then said, "He'll get over it", the stars twinkled in agreement in the midnight blue sky.
"Perhaps, though you may have turned him from women forever, looks like I'll have to watch my back" Elyssa turned to see the familiar form of Bishop and felt at home, somewhere in her heart a flame warmed her again. She smiled, bringing that warmth to it, at him, and he was taken aback by it. "Thank GOD you're here! I was starting to think I was going to have to laugh at the expression his face by myself!". She laughed gleefully, and Bishop joined in, unable to contain himself as he herd a bell-like peals of laughter. This was their little world, their part of something, even if Bishop felt that he shouldn't like it so much. Some part of Bishop worried he was trapped, that this would hold him, but another Bishop relished the warmth she brought to him. He only hoped that she would listen to what he had to say, even if it was nothing like the person she probably thought he was. "Can I speak bluntly for a bit?" He felt nervous, completely out of his depth here, he didn't like being this open with another person.
Elyssa was surprised, blinking as she tried to fathom Bishop's expression. This wasn't like Bishop, and that flicker was there, but it wasn't a flicker anymore, as if he was ready to tell her what it was, ready to let her in. He was leaning against the wall and staring at her unflinchingly, perhaps a small bit of….adoration? "Don't you always, Bishop?", Her voice was unsure, as she tried to keep at least a little of the previous camaraderie. She felt as though their world was crumbling a little, worried that he would tell her something that would cause her more pain than anything else.
"I don't want to sound like the pompous ass" , he thumbed in the direction Casavir had gone, Elyssa giggled a little, " So I'll try to be blunt; I don't know honestly what I feel about you, as it's all a bit new to me, something I don't work with normally, but if it was anything, I'd say I've come to….respect you" and with that he stared at her, and she saw the look in his eyes that confirmed it for her, confirmed the words he couldn't honestly sat, and her heart skipped a beat, no, two. Bishop felt the same as her! Now what did she do? What could she do? Did she really trust him enough?
Is she going to say anything? Bishop was thinking in overdrive, and the other Bishop was starting to laugh at him, telling him he'd been a fool. He wanted her to just say something, but she seemed to be mulling something over. He moved to speak, tired to of the endless silence, when she raised a finger to her lips. "I'd rather show you how I feel".
Her mind made up she moved forward and put a hand behind his head and brought him to her, lips gently brushing each other. It was more than Bishop could take, finally close enough to touch her. He grabbed her lower back with one hand and put his other hand behind her head and drew her closer to him and deeper into the kiss. Her free hand rested upon his torso, feeling the rough leather, wanting to know what lay beneath. She tug his clothes just enough that he'd get the message and grinned into the kiss. He growled almost animalistic in nature and dragged her to her bedroom, down the same stairs Casavir had previously walked along, still entangled together as they went.
The morning came too quickly, clothes strewn across the floor of the bedroom, light shining through the fractured windows, splinters stronger than the others. Bishop lay on the bed staring at the ceiling, his thoughts rushing incessantly around and around in his head. He turned a little and watched her petite lips open just a little to let a hiss of air escape. Her face was in a content, blissful state, too deep within her dreams to notice him gently stroke her, feeling it fall in between his fingers. He lifted a piece to his nose and inhaled her, he would never forget this scent. It was a mix of the swamp that she hailed from, the freshest air that had touched her as she journeyed and the slight fizz of magic. It combined to make the most potent and intoxicating smell he had ever learned. It awoke his survival instinct, and the other Bishop came back to him with full force.
He sat up and surveyed the room, remembering the words he had uttered to her just before she had fallen asleep, those three words he had swore to never utter to another. Within he cursed himself again, suddenly realizing how vulnerable he was to her. How open he was at this moment. His warmth turned to icy hatred as he found himself again. He stared at her, eyes likes shards. She shifted as if she felt it, felt that piercing glare. He silently made a new oath. He would destroy her, for doing this to him, for dragging hi out of the shell he had made to keep him safe from unneeded feelings . A small part of him protested, but he squished it, as he had done many a time when he was younger. Luskan had taught him something useful after all, he snickered quietly as he considered this. His final thought as he escaped the room was of how happy he had been last night…before he closed off completely, leaving her behind, clothes on, bow at hand, only a draft of icy air drifting behind him announcing his departure. The only remainder of happier memories.
Elyssa started as the draft closed over her, an hour or two after he had left. "Bishop!" She panted as she tried to control her heartbeat, only to have her breath halt as she surveyed the room. He was gone. As if he had never been there, only a cold, cold draft told her that he had left. Her memories were all she had left, and suddenly they seemed sour. Her breath hitched as she heard knocking.
"My Lady!!, You must come at once!! The enemy is at the gates!!" Casavir was in front of her door knocking loudly, trying to rouse her from the sleep ]he imagined she was in. She rushed about the room, collecting her crumpled clothes, checking she was fully equipped before she opened the door. "Where's Bishop?!" She almost screamed at Casavir, a shard of dread creeping into her heart. She feared the worst, feared the pain Casavir's answer would bring her as she felt the darkness outside come closer.
"He was at the gates the last I saw him….in fact he seemed smugger than usual… Are you alright My Lady?!" Elyssa slumped to her knees as she felt the darkness come closer than it should have been able, as she heard the creak of broken gates, as she imagined Bishop's laughing face as he completed his betrayal. Her face hardened, a single tear escaping before she could stop it.
Bishop would pay. And she would never leave her love to another. This she swore as she swept past Casavir to face the enemy. To face her lover. Her ally.
Her enemy.