Chapter Four
They ended up spending a week in Whiterun, visiting with the Companions and doing various favors for citizens of the city. "To make sure that I'm keeping up my end of the bargain as Thane," Ionuin had explained.
After a few days Argis was anxious to leave. His entire life he'd been attracted to strong women, something about their personality made him feel like they had kindred spirits, but Lydia had the opposite effect. The woman just won't leave me the hell alone, he thought, I want nothing to do with the damn broad. Regardless of his various attempts to keep her at bay, every night she tried to crawl into his bed, and every night he was forced to sleep on Iounin's floor.
"We're leaving tomorrow, Lydia," Argis heard Ionuin say from the back room, "Go buy us some essentials. Don't forget the sweets."
"And Argis, will he be travelling with you as well, My Thane?" Lydia replied.
"Yes."
"Are you sure he wouldn't be better off here? I could really work him out for you. It's been awfully quiet in your room, barely a sound has escaped."
"I don't recall questioning me as part of your job, Lydia. Perhaps you need more work to keep you occupied? Why don't you spend the night cleaning and polishing our armor," Ionuin coldly replied. Argis had to cover his laugh with a cough.
Damn that's cold, he thought, but I've gotta hand it to her, at least that will keep Lydia from trying to straddle me tonight.
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Just as Argis was drifting off to sleep that night, he heard the telltale sound of his door creaking open. He sat up with a groan, coming face to face with Lydia, who was wearing nearly nothing. Not again, he thought, just let me fucking sleep.
"Don't you have armor to be polishing?" he grumbled.
"I have something to polish," Lydia whispered, putting a hand on his groin and leaning forward to graze his lips with a kiss.
Argis swallowed deeply. It had been so long since he'd been with a woman, but he couldn't let his desire for release get the best of him now. He didn't exactly enjoy being the Dragonborn's housecarl, but he'd come to respect her, and respect meant not fucking in her house.
"Lydia," he said as calmly as he could, "please leave."
"Not until I get what I know we both want," she said while nibbling his earlobe.
"I said leave," Argis said, more firmly this time, feeling his blood start to boil.
"And I said no," she whispered back, working her way down his neck.
Feeling himself begin to snap and not caring, Argis grabbed her by the upper arms and quickly stood up, slamming her down on the apothecary table. Eyes wide, Lydia struggled to break his grip, but he was in no mood to let her win. "By the Gods, woman! I said get the fuck out! NOW LEAVE!" Lydia stared back at him clearly frightened and with tears pooling in her eyes.
"Argis!" he heard Ionuin call from the room above him, "Are you going to leave me lonely up here?"
Wait, what?
Leaving Lydia where she was and not bothering to put on anything more than the undergarments he was already wearing, Argis didn't hesitate to quickly leave the room and stride up the stairs two at a time. He met the Dovahkiin at the top, and was surprised to see her equally underdressed, a thin robe making a sad attempt to cover her smooth skin.
"Leave you lonely?" he whispered hoarsely as he eyed her up and down.
"Don't get any ideas. I'm saving you."
Following her into the bedroom that they'd been awkwardly sharing for the past week, he realized he forgot his bedroll. "Oh fuck me," he groaned, then, catching Ionuin's suddenly angry glare, he added, "I forgot my bedroll. I have to go the hell back down there."
"Yeah, and that wouldn't be suspicious at all," Ionuin whispered. "Just get in the bed. If you lay so much as one hair on me I'll slit your throat while you're sleeping and tell Lydia it was a sex game gone wrong."
Argis shut the door and climbed into the bed next to her, being careful to stay on his side. He could feel Ionuin stiff as a board next to him, obviously tense and unable to relax. He glanced her way and took in the full site before him. She lay in the bed, still atop the covers, on the furthest edge of the possible. She hadn't taken off her robe, and kept eyeing the wardrobe by her side longingly, as if trying to mentally will more clothes onto her body. Despite himself, Argis started to chuckle, then laugh.
"What the fuck is so damn funny, Argis?"
He just looked at her.
"You have to admit, Darlin', the situation is comical," he managed to choke out. She sighed in annoyance, which just made him laugh harder. Before long, he could barely breathe and had tears rolling down his cheeks from the absurdity of the situation, and thought for sure that Ionuin would make him move to the floor.
Then, astonishingly, he felt her start to laugh next to him. "Ok, this is pretty ridiculous," she said between breaths. Getting up, she walked to the wardrobe and pulled out a heavier robe, then grabbed a blanket from the chest. She tossed him the blanket, and then got back in bed, rolling into her stomach and pulling the covers up so that only her head stuck out the top. Slowly her breathing deepened and soon she was asleep
Look at me, Argis the Bulwark, in bed with the hero of Skyrim wearing only my undergarments, and afraid to cross the imaginary line in the middle of the bed. If the guys ever found out about this, I'd never hear the end of it. He fell asleep that night with a smile on his face, trying to picture the look his comrades would give him when they inevitably found out.
She's gorgeous when she smiles, he thought before finally letting sleep overcome him.
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Ionuin woke up the next day with her back pressed against Argis' side, his arm cradling her head. She could feel his deep and even breathing, her hair slightly stirring every time he exhaled. Oh Talos, she thought, please don't let him be awake. OK, calm down, deep breath, and I'll slowly shift my body weight away from him. He'll never know.
She took a deep breath, and starting to shimmy away from Argis, hips first. She neared the edge of the bed and was about to swing her legs over the side and be free when Argis firmly gripped her hip with his free hand and dragged her back across the bed to his side. Fuck, Ionuin thought, Fuckity fuck fuck.
"Morning Darlin'," Argis rumbled in her ear, "You gonna lay here with me a while, talk about whatever pops up?"
"Oh gross!" she screamed as she scrambled from the bed and made for the door, jerking it open and practically falling down the stairs to the sound of his laughter. "Asshole!"
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"How about a game, Argis?" Ionuin asked a month later on their way back to Markarth from Riften, where they had spent the last few nights. The past month had been a blur of traveling and fighting, exploring caves and ruins as they came across them and building a strong reliance on each other's strengths in combat.
"Darlin', real men don't play games."
Still conceited as ever, she thought. Ever since leaving Whiterun the month earlier, he'd been oddly quiet, not arguing nearly as much. He still had plenty of snide comments when speaking directly to her; and Ionuin could still hear him from time to time when he didn't think she was near, muttering to himself about the injustice of being relegated to being a housecarl and her follower…but even these felt half-hearted and noncommittal. Occasionally she would glance over her shoulder to ask him a question, or would come back from spying ahead, and would catch him eying her strangely, as if seeing her for the first time.
"It's called the question game," she continued, ignoring his comment and getting into a crouch with bow in hand for some target practice on the local wildlife. Argis beat her to it, throwing a knife and pinning the rabbit she was aiming for against the treed it stood by. He threw her a cocky grin over his shoulder, which only got wider at her scowl. Cocky asshole. "We take turns asking each other questions that have to be answered, no topic off limits."
Argis only hesitated a moment, appearing to contemplate her offer. "So if I ask something like how many men you've been with, or why your moods change with the wind, you have to answer?"
"That's the idea."
"Alright then, Darlin', let's start with Lydia. She's forward and ignorant, so why keep her?"
Ionuin strode forward and pulled the rabbit from the tree it was stuck to. Turning around a thrusting it at Argis, she replied, "Because if I got rid of every housecarl assigned to me with an attitude problem, I wouldn't have anyone to carry my shit." She knew Argis heard the challenge in her voice, but didn't rise to take the bait.
"What were Filkas and Varkas laughing about, that first day in Whiterun?" she finally asked.
"They told me about your previous fighting companions, Lydia and the self-titled Slayer."
Oh damn, Ionuin thought, What could they possibly have told him about Eric?
"Where'd you learn to shoot an arrow like that," he returned.
"No idea."
"That's not an answer."
"It is when it's the truth." Then, before he had time to ask what she meant, "What happened to your eye?" Argis clenched his jaw, and she knew she had hit on a sore subject.
"Fucking Forsworn," was all he said before falling into silence. Ionuin waited a while for his next question, but he remained stoically silent next to her.
Well I guess that's the end of that.
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Argis hadn't meant to go silent. He'd agreed to play Ionuin's question game with a strategy in mind, hoping to slowly increase the depth of the questions he asked, pushing her to open up to him. Instead he'd clammed up, forced to silence by the memories assaulting his brain with her sudden question.
So here we are, Argis thought, sleeping under the stars again. They were near Whiterun and only a few hours walk away from a warm bed, but when Argis had mentioned it Ionuin had just scoffed, not even bothering to acknowledge the thought of another night in Whiterun with words.
"No idea?" he asked without thinking. Ionuin replied sleepily, muttering something incomprehensible. "What do you mean you have no idea where you learned to shoot a bow?" he asked again, not wanting to give up now that he had started.
"Go to sleep, Argis," she replied.
"No. You set the rules, Darlin', and you have to answer my question."
"The game ended hours ago, Argis, go to sleep."
Argis rolled onto his side, leaning his head on his arm and peering at her through the dying fire. "Nope."
Ionuin sighed. "You're not going to let me sleep until I answer, are you."
"Hell no," he replied.
"I mean that I have no idea, Argis. The first thing that I remember is opening my eyes on the back of a cart, handcuffed and on the way to my own execution by the Imperials."
"Executed?"
Ionuin replied mid-yawn, "From what I gather, I'm a border hopper."
"How long ago was this?"
"That's more than one question, Argis," she answered, closing her eyes, "but it was a few years ago. Now shut up and let me sleep."
Argis smiled and turned onto his back again, staring up at the stars and listening to the sounds of the crickets around him. Sleep was a long way off, and he knew it. Ever since leaving Whiterun, Argis had taken more and more notice of Ionuin. Lying there now, he let his mind wander to the gentle curve of her body, and the grace with which she moved when stalking ahead of him.
It had started back in Whiterun, an admiration for the way she handled Lydia, but he knew that it was slowly becoming more. Lately he could feel his heart jump into his throat every time she put herself in danger, fighting off his own foes with a vengeance, feeling himself burn with the need to rush to her side and keep her protected. Learning that she had no memory beyond a few years earlier did nothing to curb these feelings, it just made him want to protect her more.
He didn't show her, of course. No, I'm just as big of an asshole as ever. Instead, he continued to treat her the same as he always had, the only way he knew how, with sarcasm and raunchy comments. He knew it was a façade to hide behind, but it was the only option he had. Ionuin would never reciprocate his growing feelings, so he wouldn't let his mind take it that far. Still, late at night like this, there was little distraction to stop his imagination. Slowly he drifted off to sleep, wondering what it would be like to tell her, and if he ever would.
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"Argis," he felt Ionuin whisper against his ear, "Argis wake up."
"Morning, Darlin'," Argis grumbled as he opened his eyes. They had been travelling back towards Markarth for weeks now, and were only a day or so's walk to the city. They had planned on an early start, Ionuin wanting to get back before dinner, but he hadn't imagined she wanted to start moving this early. It was still dark out, with just a hint of light on the horizon. He opened the side of his bedroll wider, "You wanting to join me in here?"
"What?" she whispered back, focusing her attention through the tall grass surrounding them, "No. Someone's coming. Don't you hear it?"
Argis willed himself awake now, forcing his eyes to adjust to the light and willing his ears to hear what she did. He could hear the sound of heavy footfalls, that of a giant, walking in circles not far in the distance. Just as he opened his mouth to tell her to go back to sleep, a twig snapped to the left of their campsite, followed by a silent oath. Argis sat up, pulling his sword out from the sheath next to the bedroll.
"Stay here," he whispered, and before she could answer he crawled into the tall grasses surrounding them.
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Ionuin watched him go, torn between following and staying still. Not wanting to draw attention to him, she opted to stay where she was. Moving her glass dagger into her right hand, she inched closer to the now dead fire, hoping that the hot embers behind her would help deter any would-be attackers from sneaking up on her.
Please let him be ok, she thought. Recently she'd been filled with worry for him every time they entered into a dangerous situation. It wasn't the normal worry that she was accustomed to when fighting side-by-side with someone, but something more intense, more carnal in its emotion. Enough of that, she thought.
A fog had started to settle over the land, making visibility even harder and magnifying all sounds to seem like a threat. Feeling the air shift behind her, Ionuin turned just in time to meet the bandit Forsworn as he thrust a knife into her gut, twisting before pulling it out. Acting now only on adrenaline and instinct, she threw her own glass dagger at the back of her now retreating foe before the world went black and she fell forward, not even noticing the still burning embers she landed on.