"Come on, princess. Wake up!" I felt someone shaking me and pushed their hand away as I fought to hold onto my sleep. A few seconds passed and I was almost asleep again when the hand returned, more rough this time. "We don't have all day. Let's go, Anja!"

"Go away!" I muttered, pushing the hand away again and shielding my face with my arm. "That's it! Get her Karnwyr!" Then I felt what seemed like the weight of a bear on top of me as a cold nose shoved my arm away from my face and a large wet tongue glided across my cheek. "Okay, okay! I'm up!" I shouted pushing the giant animal off me. "Ew!" I whined, sitting up and wiping my face with the sleeve of my shirt. Bishop stood at the foot of my bedroll laughing his ass off while I glared at him. "Hey! Don't look at me like that." He said, still chuckling. "I gave you every opportunity to get up on your own. I didn't want to resort to that but you gave me no choice."

"Whatever, ranger." I said sourly, pulling the tie off the end of my braid. I combed through my hair gently with my fingers and scratched my scalp where the braid had pressed against it while I slept. "Come on, we've got a lot of ground to cover if we want to make it to Falkreath by nightfall." He held out his hand and I stared at it, unsure whether or not to take it. Before I could decide, he put his hands up defensively and stepped back. "Just hurry up, will you?"

Bishop was ready to go but waited patiently for me to pack my things. He kicked dirt over what was left of our fire, effectively stomping out the smoking ashes as I attached my bedroll to my bag. "Okay." I called as I looped my arms through my bags straps. "I'm ready."

"Well it's about time, princess." Bishop teased and I smiled at him.

"Who would have thought." I started.

"And what's that, Ladyship?"

"That the grumpy ranger had a nice side to him." He made a face at my teasing and I couldn't help but laugh.

"I've never heard you laugh before." He said after a moment.

"I guess it has been a while." I realized.

We chatted back and forth to pass the time as we traveled through Falkreath's forest. Talking to Bishop had begun to seem effortless. He told me of the cliff racers he'd hunted for sport in Morrowind and how he'd rescued Karnwyr as a cub when he was seventeen. We stayed on the road for the majority of the day, stopping only to eat.

"I bet I could shoot better than you, ranger." I said as I threw the core of my second apple into the trees.

"Ha! Did I just hear a frog croak? Oh, no it was just you."

"Since we're playing pretend, I'll call you a prince." I teased.

"That still makes you a frog, Ladyship."

"We'll just see about that." I said as I looked around and spotted a target. "There." I pointed to show Bishop where I would aim. He nodded and I drew my bow. I breathed out as I released my arrow, striking the target perfectly. "Well." I said proudly. "This frog just hit her target. Your move, prince." I bowed dramatically and Bishop laughed as he readied an arrow. "Just watch, sweetness. I never miss my mark."

Bishop drew his bow, which looked almost small in his thick, muscular arms as he brought an arrow to his ear, aiming at the target. I watched silently, eager to see him shoot when his golden eyes flickered to mine as he released his arrow which landed about six inches above the target. His brow furrowed in frustration. "That's uh... never happened before." I smiled happily. "I guess, that makes me the winner!" I laughed and Bishop looked at me with mixture of amusement and anger on his face. "Come on, Ranger. There's more ground to cover." I called behind me as I jogged away. Leaving the stunned ranger behind me.

.

..

.

"Have you seen a dog out there?" A guard called to us as we approached the city gates.

"No." Bishop answered. "A wolf, but no dogs." He added gesturing to Karnwyr like a smartass.

"The blacksmith has a reward out for a dog he saw on the road. Guess I'll stay on the lookout." He muttered, mostly to himself. Bishop and I just shrugged at each other and continued past him towards the Inn.

.

"I'm sorry Dragonborn." Valga apologized again. "I only have one room available."

"That's fine, we'll take it." I said giving her a handful of gold. I glanced at Bishop. "You can sleep on the floor."

"The hells I am." He countered and Valga cleared her throat. "I'll show you to your room, then. It's right this way."

She led us to a room with a large bed and a desk in the corner. "I'll be at the bar. If you need anything, just holler." She said quietly before she stepped out, closing the door behind her. Bishop wasted no time in getting comfortable. He dropped his bag and pulled his armor and shoes off, leaving on just his leather pants and cotton shirt. "I'm not taking the floor. You can have it, or you can suck it up and join me. But I'm sleeping in that bed." He said as he walked around the bed and pulled back the blankets before plopping into it and rolling over to face away from me. Karnwyr followed his master and laid down on the floor next to him. Surprised, and a little irritated, I genuinely considered taking the floor when he suddenly sat up enough to blow out the candle on the nightstand. "Make up your mind quickly. We're trying to sleep here." He called annoyingly and I could have sworn I saw that bastard grinning. Still standing where I was when we entered the room I dropped my bag with a sigh and pulled my hood off, walking over to hang it on the bed's post. I tried to be quiet as I removed my chest piece and set it on the floor. I sat on the edge of the bed, not bothering to move the blankets from under me and pulled my boots off. Briefly, I considered placing my dagger under my pillow but quickly shook away the thought. If Bishop wanted me dead, he would have let the necromancers do the work for him. Instead, I laid down, on the very edge of the bed, careful not to touch Bishop as he was already snoring. I wanted to roll my eyes at his ease of falling asleep but they closed involuntarily. It wasn't long before I too, succumbed to exhaustion.

.

..

.

"Bandits. Ugh, why is it always bandits? Did I mention that I hate bandits?" I said as I walked down the steps of the Jarl's loghouse and handed the bounty to Bishop for him to look over. "They're close." He said. "Could be worse. If we move quickly we might even be back before nightfall."

"That's if we can find them in the first place, Bishop. Bandits tend to move around a lot, we could spend the full day just looking for them."

"Are you complaining again, Ladyship? At least it's not a spoon." He grinned.

"You'd like that wouldn't you, if we'd come all the way here for a spoon?"

"And be proven right? Of course I would."

"Well, at least I can be happy that's not the case." I said and Bishop laughed. He handed the bounty back to me which I tucked into my belt. "Well. Let's go get this over with. Otherwise I might never be rid of you."

"Oh, I don't know, princess. I think I might actually be growing on you."

"Only in your dreams, ranger."

.

We'd been walking an hour or so when we came upon a raided carriage. Two men had been slain and the horses had been stolen. One of the men looked young, barely into his twenties. The other was much older, but bore a resemblance. His father, perhaps.

"I fucking hate bandits!" I spat as I kicked the carriage as hard as I could.

"Wait. This is recent." Bishop said as he crouched, examining the bodies. "We're close, Ladyship. Get ready."

"Well, well. Look who decided to show his face boys." I felt the blood drain from my face and stared in horror as I watched one of my worst nightmares emerge form the trees. The tall, blonde bandit leader was flanked on both sides by two men. "Ah... Bishop. It seems you come bearing a gift. A peace offering perhaps?" His eyes met mine and he smiled that sick smile that's haunted me for so long. "It's been too long since I've laid my eyes on beauty such as yours, little mouse."

"You've got it all wrong, Thorn. She's not a mouse. I'd say she's much more than that."

"Thorn?!" I yelled, outraged. "You know him?"

"Know me?" The bandit leader scoffed. "We used to work together, little mouse." He said smiling from ear to ear. I looked at Bishop, who wore a pained expression. "Anja..." He started.

"No..." I said taking a step away from him. "Bishop... tell me it's not true! Tell me!" I shouted and he just stood there, staring at me with that same look.

"All this time... ALL THIS TIME!" I yelled in disbelief and anger. "And you said nothing. Even after I told you..."

"It's not what you think!"

"No! I don't want to hear anything else from you!" I drew my dagger and took another step away from him. "From the very beginning you lied to me. You said you were a ranger! And I not only believed you, I trusted you! I actually... UGH!" Thorn's laughter broke through my anger.

"You're ranging now? Hahaha. From robbing nobles caravans to fattening their bellies." The bandit leader nearly fell over from his booming laughter.

"I see your powers of observation have not changed. Still can't see past your own image can you?" Bishop challenged him.

"Well it was my own image that defeated you, was it not? Hahaha. You claim to be of the best out there, but truth is you're a pathetic, scared little rodent. Not unlike your company here. Anyone can see that."

"What is it with you people and your rat references?" I interrupted.

"Anyone as vain as you!" Bishop added and Thorn laughed again. "That, from the man that cares for no one but himself." His eyes shifted back to mine. "Word is, you're the Dragonborn." He looked me up and down. "Such a prize indeed." I couldn't help the shiver that ran down my spine in response to his words. "The stories of how I conquered the Dragonborn will be told for ages to come. And then... Once I am finally done with her, I will bring her in and claim the price on her head. The gold will have me... us, set for life." His men nodded in agreement and excitedly drew their weapons.

"Is. That. So?" Bishop growled.

"It is. I should thank you for presenting her to me. Oh, perhaps I will let you have some fun with her as well. After me and my boys are done of course."

"You wish, Thorn." Bishop flexed his arms and tightened his grip on his knife.

"Would that be wise I wonder? You do remember what happened the last time we spoke."

"You don't want to fight me, Thorn. It's been years since our last meeting. We fought to a draw that time but I've learned a lot since then. On the other hand, you've probably stayed hidden in the forest all these years being the brave warrior you are. Fighting bunny rabbits... and squirrels."

"Funny you should mock me Bishop, you know perfectly well how easy it would be for me to simply... skin you alive. With your own hunting knife no less."

"I've heard that before... and yet, here I stand."

"Ha. You never could follow orders, Bishop."

"Did you actually expect me to ignore your methods?" Bishop spat. "You're sick and you need to be cut down like the rabid animal you are!"

"Go ahead and try it!"

"I'm going to carve my name into that face of yours. That ought to tear the heart right out of you, huh?"

"Kill Bishop if you must. I want her alive. Oh the fun we will have together."

Thorn leaned against a tree as his men charged towards us. I unsheathed my other dagger in time to block the swing of a bandit's mace. "FUS RO DAH!" I shouted, sending him flying further into the forest where he landed with a loud thud. I ran past Bishop, who was fighting two others and dodged another bandit's sword as he swung it right over my head, stumbling forward. I could tell they weren't trying to kill me. I grabbed the bandit's head by his hair and pulled it down hard against my knee. I drove one of my daggers into his back and shoved him to the side, not even bothering to pull it back out. Karnwyr appeared next to me and began to drag the screaming bandit away, teeth locked around his neck. Thorn was watching me, smiling. "Little mouse." He said, as the first bandit came running back. Hearing Thorn's voice caused memories of our last encounter to flood my mind and my vision went red. The bandit reached me then, mace ready and he swung at me again. I ducked from the attack and his mace cracked against a tree. His boot connected with my head as I went to stand up and he grabbed my arm with his. I ran my blade across his skin, slicing it open. Blood poured freely from the large wound and he punched me in the jaw, knocking me backwards to the ground. "YOL!" I shouted flames at him just before he reached me again and he threw his arms up to shield himself from the burning fury of my voice. I shot to my feet and plunged my dagger into his heart before he'd had a chance to stop me. I twisted it once, making sure he was dead before sliding my blade out of his chest.

Bishop had killed one of the bandits and was making quick work of the last one. I looked to Thorn who had drawn his axes in anticipation of my attack. He grinned when our eyes met which only made me angrier as I ran in his direction. I swung my dagger as soon as I reached him and he blocked my attack with his axes. I tried to kick off of him but he wrapped his arms around mine, pulling me against him. He smiled at me again and I felt pure rage course through me. I reached up with my free hand and dug my nails into the skin on his face, clawing deep gashes into it as he pushed me away. He wasn't smiling anymore, he was enraged. I smirked at the sight of his bloody face. "Oh, You're going to pay for that, little mouse. What was your little friends name? Ivela? I can still remember your screams as I slit her throat."

"Don't you dare talk about her! I'll fucking kill you!" I screamed as I ran at him again and he raised an axe to swing. "FEIM!" I shouted, slipping into spectral form and his axe glided right through me. I twisted around him as my shout wore off and raked my dagger across his back. He yelled in pain as he turned to face me, arm raised once again, ready to attack when an arrow stuck through his wrist, causing him to drop the axe he wielded. He looked in the direction it came from and caught another of Bishop's arrows in the chest. I stuck my dagger into his side. Another arrow flew past his head as he punched me in the face, sending me backwards to the ground. A few seconds later I heard Bishop yell in pain as I was trying to get to my feet. Thorn was standing in front of me and his fist connected with my cheek again. I didn't get up this time. Instead, Thorn came over me, pinning me to the ground with his hand around my neck. I tried to push against him as my breathing was cut off, but it was pointless, he was so much larger than me. Spots danced across my vision and I reached for the arrow still sticking out of his other wrist. With all the strength I had, I yanked the arrow through, deepening the already bloody wound and though Thorn yelled, it did little to stop him. Grunting, he now had two hands wrapped around my neck, choking the life from me. My hand searched along his side and when I felt the dagger that was still sticking out of him, I wrapped my hand around it firmly and pulled it out. Before I could stab him, he wrestled the dagger away from me and held it against my throat as I gasped for air and coughed, struggling to breathe. Karnwyr, snarling at our feet, suddenly cried out as Thorn kicked him.

"feim." I choked out... and nothing happened. "feim." I tried again... still nothing. Thorn grinned at my failed attempts to shout. "The almighty Dragonborn, indeed." He said as he pressed the dagger into my neck. "Bishop!" I called out hoarsely, causing the sharp blade to dig into my skin a little. "He can't save you, little mouse, any more than Ivela could. You're mine." Thorn cooed, stroking my face. "No." I gasped, trying to push him off. "No!" I yelled, louder this time as his hands searched for the straps of my chest piece. "I'll have you here and now, you little bitch!" Thorn shouted as he slapped me and began tearing at my armour. I began to feel sick with apprehension and panicked. I couldn't control the screams that escaped me, they were only cut short by the sight of the tip of a sword sticking out of thorn's chest. I stared, frozen in place by my fear as Bishop ran his knife across Thorn's throat in front of me. He shoved the bandit leader's body to the side as he bled out, writhing on the forest floor beside me.

"Anja." Bishop's wavering voice broke through my trance as he sank to his knees, one of Thorn's axes sticking out of his chest.