It was a full days journey to the rifts forest and we had walked in silence for the first several hours. I did notice Bishop glance at me every once in a while and I tried to ignore how uncomfortable it made me feel. He mostly walked several paces in front of me and when he wasn't looking at me strangely, his eyes scanned our surroundings. The only sound he made was the occasional sigh whenever I would stop to collect some flowers or scrape some mushrooms off of a tree trunk. Anything that slowed him down really, would elicit a sigh. He would stop and face me with his arms crossed and stare until I was finished. Then, without word, would start walking again. I couldn't help but wonder what the hell was his problem. This seemed to go beyond just getting to his wolf quickly. I tried not to think about it as I walked behind him.
I settled on polishing one of my daggers to occupy my mind. I focused on the swirls that were carved into the handle, it was caked in old blood. I scrubbed the blood off with a rag I'd pulled from my pocket. When I was satisfied with how it looked I sheathed it. I looked up right in time to keep from walking into Bishop. "Hey!" I called, caught off guard by his sudden closeness.
He didn't look back. "We're making camp here. Were you gonna help or did you just want to daydream some more?"
His rudeness irritated me and feeling my face flush with heat, I huffed. I dropped my bag on the ground hard and heard the sound of glass breaking. I sighed and ignored it as I went to work gathering firewood. I didn't look at Bishop and secretly hoped that him and his attitude had fallen down a hole somewhere. Once I had the logs set up I channeled flames into my hand and gently threw the fireball into the logs. Once the fire was going I laid my bedroll out next to it and sat down. I took my boots off and grabbed my bag. I opened the top flap and inspected the damage. Both of my healing potions were destroyed. I removed the broken glass and retrieved my mortar and pestle.
"I hope you brought your own food." I looked up and Bishop was muttering from across the fire as he laid strips of meat across the flames. He had set up his bedroll on the complete opposite side, which was fine with me. He'd removed the top of his armour, wearing a thin cotton shirt thats' sleeves looked too small around his thick arms. "Obviously." I replied, looking back to the little station I was beginning to set up. I grabbed an apple from my pack and took a bite. I set it beside me on my bedroll as I chewed. I started laying out my ingredients and one by one adding the ingredients for my potion. Blisterwort, blue flowers, butterfly wing...
With only moments of sunlight left, I corked the last bottle. Three new potions sat in front of me. Happy with my work I placed everything back in my bag, making sure nothing was at risk of breaking. I grabbed my apple and, with a frown, realized it had browned. I tossed it into the trees and reached in my bag and grabbed a carrot. I looked across the small fire and saw two golden orbs staring at me. His eyes shined as bright as the fire, if not brighter. And I wondered, how long he'd been staring at me.
"That's all you're gonna eat? A... carrot?" Bishop asked in that same mocking tone he used earlier.
"What's it to you, anyway?" I asked, clearly irritated. Stress usually kept me from eating well, but I wasn't about to explain that to him.
"I don't need you falling over tomorrow. Have some meat." I jerked his head towards the last few pieces still hovering over the fire.
"I actually don't care for it... but thanks." I said flatly. I didn't want to thank him. His reasons for trying to feed me were purely selfish. Bastard.
"Well I hope you've got a barrel of those I didn't see just laying around somewhere." He said sarcastically, pulling the cork off a bottle of what looked like mead.
"Enough commentary on my dinner!" I snapped.
After I finished eating I pulled the ties off my braids and let them unravel. I scratched my head and pushed all of my dark hair back. With a yawn I laid down on my bedroll. I heard the sound of another drink being uncorked and the popping of the fire beside me. It took a few minutes of effort but I finally relaxed.
"Your ears..."
I opened my eyes with a groan. "What? Oh, yeah. They're pointed... my father was a wood elf." I said as I rolled onto my side, facing the fire and shutting my eyes.
"That explains your unnaturally high cheekbones. I was beginning to think you visited that face-sculptor I've been hearing about."
"Mhmm."
"And your mother was a Nord?" He guessed.
I sighed. "No. The woman who birthed me was a Nord. My mother was a Dunmer."
"So you were adopted or something?" He pressed.
"I guess you could call it that. That probably comes closest, anyway. Can I sleep now, or did you have more questions?"
He laughed, taking a drink of his mead. "Sweet dreams, princess."
"Stop calling me that." I mumbled as I rolled over, facing the forest. And then I dreamed, but they were not good dreams.
.
..
.
Forced to kneel before Alduin, I watched in horror as he consumed the souls of my closest friends. His dark wings cast a shadow over everything and his darkness was consuming the light. I tried to shout but I couldn't remember how. How long had I been like this? I was powerless to stop him as he took away everyone I cared about. He shouted at me. "JOOR ZAH FRUL" And I realized why I couldn't move. Alduin had used Dragonrend. His words wrapped around me like thick chains and kept me from moving. Alduin had won our fight and was forcing me to watch him destroy the world. Once he had finished taking the souls of everyone else he looked at me, his eyes glowing with hatred. He called my soul to him and I screamed as I felt it being ripped from my body.
"Wake up!"
"Wake up!"
I was already upright when I opened my eyes. Bishop had a worried look on his face as he held my arms in his hands, holding me up. While catching my breath I realized I was pressed against his chest, holding fistfuls of his cotton shirt and quickly pulled away. Seconds later his expression changed and he was back to his usual self.
"What the hell was that about, woman? You trying to attract some wild beasts? You know what, don't even answer. I don't want you thinking I care or anything. I just couldn't sleep with all of that screaming of yours." He had released me and was already walking back to his side of the fire by the time he finished talking. He laid on his bedroll and faced away from me.
I pulled my knees to my chest and stared at the flames as I tried to forget about that stupid nightmare. Minutes passed and I could hear Bishop's breathing begin to even. Still, I could not clear the terrifying vision from my mind. With a sigh I grabbed my bag and looked through it, til I found what I wanted. A large brown wine bottle with a fancy label. 'Evette's Spiced Wine'
I pulled the cork off and took a long drink.