After discovering that I'm the Dragonborn, Bishop went to the Bannered Mare to think things over, again, and I reported to the jarl about our sucess with the dragon. On the way, the world shook as several voices "shouted" Dovahkiin. That word again? What does that even mean? Anyway, I reported to the jarl and discovered that it was the group known as Greybeards who shouted from High Hrothgar to basically say "Dragonborn, get up here!" I didn't know what to make of it, but the jarl assured me that the Greybeards would have answers.

I returned to the Bannered Mare to find Bishop drinking some ale. I couldn't exactly blame him. One minute, I'm an elven girl just doing a favor for a favor, then I have glowing markings that could end my life if I use them, and now I'm the Dragonborn whose destiny is to kill dragons no matter the cost. I figured that he probably regretted ever meeting me. Before I left the inn without him, Karnwyr spoted me and nearly knocked Bishop's seat over to get to me.

"What did the jarl say?" He asked as I tried to calm the wolf down.

"Apparentally, I have to go to a place called High Hrothgar if I want answers about this whole Dragonborn thing." I said annoyed, then I looked to him regretfully. "You don't have to come with me if you don't want to. You did more than enough for me and I'm grateful."

"You still need a guide, right?" He sighed.

"What?"

"You still don't know your way around Skyrim. It'll be years before you make it to the Greybeards. Hell, they might be dead by the time you're there." He smirked at me like I was some sort of lost puppy.

"Hey! I'm not that much of a loss cause!" I yelled at him.

"C'mon, let's go. We're burning daylight." He avoided the argument and led on.

Now we're setting up camp a ways away from a small village at the base of the mountain.

"What's the name of the town again?" I ask as I straighten my tent.

"Ivarstead. Basically the only world contact that the Greybeards get is the food supplies from this town." Bishop answers as he finishes the fire.

"Ivarstead, huh?" I whisper to myself, confirming that this was definitely the town I was first raised in as a child.

"Ladyship?" Bishop notices that I'm destracted.

"Uh, just tired." I make an excuse up. "I'm not all that hungry, plus we should probably take shifts for standing watch, and the jarl did say that the seven thousand steps was quite the hike. Good night!" I hurry into a bedroll before he can ask any questions.

Within minutes, I fall asleep. I dream, but this dream turns quickly into a nightmare. I start of seeing my mother and father, finally I'm home. Then Danarius grabs me and throws me into an abyss. I am on the ground a look up to see an elven woman turned. Do I know this woman? No, it couldn't be.

"Why hello, Melody." the woman turns and shows a sick, degrating face. "Did you cause anyone else to die today?"

"No!" I run, hearing a terrifying laughter all around me.

I stop when I see a forest and reach the mouth of a cave.

"Mellloooodyyyyyy." I voice from inside the cave calls to me, a voice that still haunts me. "Come and truely become my sister." An elven man, a few years older than me smiles with fangs peeking out of his bloodied lips.

"Rico? No, no, no!" I run again as he lunged at my neck.

I run and run until I reach a cliff. I scream as I fall, landing on snow covered ground. I look around me to see that I'm on top of the same mountain that I appeared on. I hear a deep, loud growl behind me. I slowly turn around to see the black dragon just a foot away. It rears it's head.

"Wake up." I hear someone calling out to me. Who? The dragon strikes down and I scream.

"WAKE UP!"

I shoot my eyes open an sit up quickly, breathing heavily.

"Geez, Woman," it was Bishop, thank whoever is watching over me. "Are you trying to attract predators? You know what, don't answer that."

"I guess I had a nightmare." I try to stay calm.

"You guess? From all that screaming, I know it was a nightmare." he sounds angry and a little worried. "Do you want to talk about it? Not that I care or anything."

"Do you have somethings in your life that you deeply regret?" I ask leaving him speachless. "And if so, could you share it with someone you barely knows you and you barely know them?"

He frowns and takes the bucket full of water that was meant for the fire and dumps it on my head.

"Hey! Why do you keep doing that?" I yell at him.

"Habit."

"Huh?"

"Let me explain, Princess." He sits down next to me gazing at the fire. "I have a lot of siblings, one of them being half khajiit."

"Wait, what?" that is certainly a surprise, then I start thinking about it. "You know what, never mind. That actaully explains a lot."

"Anyway, he hated water. Anytime he was in a bad mood or was about to throw a "hissy" fit, I either dumped water on him or dumped him in the nearest water source." He laughs as he tells me this.

I laugh along with him and realize, he misses his brother and whenever he saw me angry or upset, water would be his answer. "Did he eventually like water?"

"No. He hated it even more, but it gave him something else to get mad about."

"So, you were helping him forget what made him upset to begin with?"

"I was just trying to get a laugh." He puts up the tough look again.

I sigh, hoping that I don't regret what I'm about to do. "Please don't dump water on me after I tell you this."

"If I had another bucket, I would hold no such promises." Bishop jokes and I elbow his arm.

"I remember who my parents were, but I was taken away from them when I was very young. Three to be exact. The mage who onced owned my father took me to hurt my family and sent me to the Throat of the World, or so I'm told." I see the shock on Bishop's face and continue. "A wood elf woman took me in and had me join her family. Her husband thought that it was a bad idea and her eldest son, Tarkis, hated me since I first arrived, but her youngest son treated me like a sister. When I was six, she died from a terrible disease. We had to burn down the house and move out of Ivarstead. Out of Skyrim."

I don't look at Biship, but simply stare at the flames as though they were the same flames I saw burning as I left Ivarstead.

"Her husband blamed me for her death as did Tarkis, but Rico never left my side."

"Rico? That was the name you said in your sleep." Bishop points out.

"He was the youngest son. Rico stood up for me and occasionally took beatings for me."

"Beatings?"

"After his wife died, Rico's father became a drunk. Every night he'd just find some reason to hit me and it didn't matter if I was in the room or asleep or whatever, I was to blame for whatever troubled him. When I turned sixteen, I left with my debt to them paid in full."

"Debt?"

"As an unwanted guest that they had to clothe and feed, I had to find a way to pay for my way out. Anyway, Rico went with me. He always believed in me and wanted to help me get back to my real family." I take a deep breath, knowing that what I was going to tell him next was going to bring back terrible memories. "We heard about some strange goings on in a cave in Morrowind, thought that there would be a clue. Turns out that it was a nest for vampires. Rico cut his hand on the cave walls and they could smell it. We ran, but somehow they got to him and bit him. I didn't know until two days later. I knew Rico was sick, but I didn't know what he was becoming. One night he tried to bite me on the neck. I never had seen him so out of control, so sad, so...hungry. He jumped off a cliff into the sea to end both his suffering and mine. His death still haunts me."

I start to cry. "This... this is why I... I don't let people in. I don't let people... get close to me. They end up hurt or dead because of-" I gasp as I'm held in Bishop's arms.

"None of that was your fault. She just got sick and he was just trying to protect you from himself. You are not responsible, alright?" Bishop tightens his hold on me as I nod. "Now let it all out, I can't stand to see a beautiful woman cry, but I can make an exception."

I cry and cry in his strong arms until I fall asleep.

...

I wake up in a bedroll, still in Bishop's arms. I gues after throwing a bucket of water at me, he realized that I might actually catch a cold in the chilly night. Crazy man. However, this is the first time I've ever seen him relaxed. His face is so calm, so peacefull. It's kind of cute. He has a few scars and I can't tell if they were caused by animals, or blades. There's so much I still don't know about him, but if he's willing to share, I don't think I'll mind if he shares with me.

Wait, what am I thinking? He's still a big, crazy, perverted-! His hand is on my right boob.

"OW!" He wakes up from my slap. "By the gods, Woman! Do that one more time and you'll regret it!"

"Up and at'em. We need to get to High Hrothgar before tonight and I don't want to be wasting any time in Ivarstead." I get up quickly and start packing. "C'mon, chop-chop."

We pack up camp and I speed up ahead of him so he doesn't see me blush.

...….

In good time, we arrive in Ivarstead. It has hardly changed since I was last here. I see the burned down house across the river. That was...

"Check if you can find anything out with the innkeeper and get some new supplies,"as soon as I think Bishop is considerate, he smiles "someone wolfed down the rest of our food this morning. I'll check with the locals out here."

I shake my head and go into the inn. I walk up to the bar and buy some food while getting information about the Greybeards. Nothing new to learn, but I feel like someone is watching me.

"Well, the little bitch is back, huh?" that voice.

"Tarkis?" I spinn around to find the Wood Elf with a bottle of mead in his hand, glaring at me.

"So, you remember me, oh joy." Tarkis is drunk, but like his father, he's an angry drunk.

"I never thought that I'd see you here of all places, Tarkis." I try to sound confident.

"Old man kicked the bucket, leaving me with a bunch of debt. So I returned to this dump!" he throws his bottle at the wall. "So, where's my good for nothing little brother?"

There it is, the question I am still afraid to answer. "Not here."

"Then where? Is he even alive or did you kill him too."

I say nothing, knowing that he can't handle the truth in his condition.

"Answer me, Bitch!" Tarkis smacks me to the ground and starts to choke me as everyone else in the room panicks; one even runs outside screaming. "You killed my brother didn't you? You murdering bitch, DIDN'T YOU?"

I can't breathe, but I don't dare fight back. His words ring some truth in my ears. I may not have delivered the final blow, but his family's blood in on my hands.

"Get away from her!" Bishop!

Bishop comes running in, forcing Tarkis off me. I cough as Bishop pins Tarkis to the wall.

"So who's this? Your new dog to follow you around and do your dirty work until he dies?" Tarkis acts tough.

"I don't follow anyone's bidding but my own, but if you dare touch her like that again, I'll feed you to a den full of saber cats!" Bishop pushes off him and drags me out by the hand. "Why didn't you fight him? Had I gotten there any later you would have-!"

"He had the right!" I yell back at Bishop. "That was Tarkis and he was right. I took his whole family away from him. If anyone had a right to kill me it'd be him!"

Bishop glares at me and picks me up by the waist. He's taking me to the river and despite my kicking and screaming, he does not let go. Infact, he goes in the water with me. I slip out of his hold and start hitting his chest calling him every name I can think of as tears fall down my face. He catches my wrists and lets me continue to cry as the river flows around us. I stop restisting and he holds me in an embrace again.

"I don't care if they have a right, I'll never let anyone hurt or kill you while I'm around. That's a promise for as long as I'm your traveling companion, alright?" He whispers softly in my ears.

I nod and we both get out of the water to head of the ten thousand steps.