One Day Before The Jarl's Party...
"I'll be amazed if this works," Argis said, lacing up his leggings and smiling as he watched Gillian shimmy, drying her back with her towel. "The priestesses are feisty, you know; I wouldn't be surprised if they throw us off the cliff."
"Only one way to find out, right?" She winked and reached toward the hook on the wall for her dark red tunic. "And what do we have to lose? Well, other than our lives. Still worth the risk, I think."
"Married…this afternoon. I can't…I…" He helped Gilly pull the tunic down her slightly damp back and tried to wrap his head around their plan. As a young man, he'd taken his eventual wedding day for granted. But as the years passed, 'now and forever' seemed an unscalable mountain – and here he was, so close to the summit. What if he fell? What if he took Gillian down with him?
"Gillian, this is…" He slung his towel over his shoulders and clenched the ends with his fists, his forehead furrowed and lips clenched in a grimace.
She narrowed her eyes at him while toweling her hair dry. "You just threatened to carry me to Riften on your back, Argis…what's wrong?"
"Oh, I expected to screw this up long before we made it to Riften," he admitted, laughing softly to himself. At himself.
She sighed, and sat on a bench near the firepit. "Tell me what happened, love. I've wanted to ask a hundred times who broke your heart, because someone did a number on you. Will you tell me?"
"It wasn't…" He was still for a minute, and then nodded and walked over to sit next to her. "Her name was Anya. We met at the Bard's College. She was sweet and beautiful, sixteen and full of romantic notions." Argis held her hand in his and kissed it. "I wish I'd known you at sixteen. I'll bet you were the same way, romantic…an idealist."
"I think everyone is at that age. I saw the world how I wanted to see it, and I thought…if I gave beauty and love, I'd attract them both in return. But that's not what happened," she said, kissing his bare shoulder. "The rose-colored glasses tend to crack a little when life turns cruel." Gillian squeezed his hand, encouraging him to continue. "What happened when you left, when you joined the Legion?"
"Well, Anya got caught up in the romance of the war. She thought my decision was passionate and noble, and swore to wait for me. And then, reality set in. I left Solitude at twenty-one, and when I came back at twenty-four, she felt…well, she'd changed her mind about a lot of things. She was a Bard by that time, and wanted us to wed and get on with our lives. She asked me to leave the Legion…to desert. Said they'd taken enough from me."
Gillian whistled. "She couldn't have had any idea what they'd do to you…"
"No. I told her I'd take her to Riften on my next leave, and she seemed happy, but…I never got another leave, never saw her again. She married a Bard…maybe two years later. Never told me. When I came home, broken and blind, no career, no future…that's when I found out, so you can imagine…"
He took a deep breath and swallowed hard, watching Gillian's eyes narrow as he continued. "I felt…betrayed, and some of the guys in the unit thought it was funny that I could defend the Legion from its enemies, but couldn't defend my own home. I was weak…worthless."
"But you know that's not true. None of it," she said, wrapping her arms and legs around him and kissing his chest. "Anya's a woman, not a damned castle or a possession. Assholes."
He kissed the top of her head and held her close. "I should have told them to go fuck themselves instead of taking it to heart. But I was proud…and angry."
"So…you're worried that I'll marry you and, ah...you'll change from the person I love now, or I'll change, and I'll leave like Anya did? Is that it?"
"No," he said, staring at her fiery hair and letting his hands drift under her tunic, around her waist. "It was my fault, Gilly. It wasn't about Anya leaving me. I thought it was, for years, but…I made promises to her and broke them. I joined the Legion for...fortune and glory, when I had no idea what I was getting into. I blamed her when she didn't want to live the life I chose for her. I put her in such an…impossible situation."
Gillian pulled his chin around so he'd look at her. "Argis, war makes everything difficult, and we all made mistakes. I made big ones, so did you. So did Anya. But…you owned up to them. Stopped blaming. Only a strong person can do that. Can admit his failures and learn from them. Keep moving, keep from becoming bitter and cruel. That's the kind of man I want to marry. So, from now on, we make all our stupid mistakes together, agreed?"
"But…" he sighed, and then laughed at Gillian's expression. "All right...fine. Agreed. Can't argue with your 'bossy' face. You know, that's probably how you beat Alduin, in the end." He took a deep breath, and smiled as she leaned her head on his shoulder. "Thanks."
"For what?" Gillian kissed his cheek.
"For listening. I don't like talking about my past. But I had to get it out of my head. To move on."
"I'm glad you did. You should be thinking of nothing else but us, and our future together. Because it's going to be great," she said, closing her eyes and sighing as his fingers moved from her waist down to her inner thigh. "Although, if we want to marry today, you should probably stop doing that. Otherwise, we'll never get dressed."
"Can't help it." He reluctantly moved his fingers to rest under her jaw and kissed her lips. "I'm going to finish dressing and I'll meet you in the living room," he said, rising and jogging over to his old bedroom for a clean tunic.
"Babe?"
"Yeah?" He stopped behind the dining table, leaning on a chair.
"She loved you. Anya did. It was just a shitty situation, you know. You've been loved, and I'm going to love you for the rest of my life. Believe it."
"I do," he said, and smiled.
Dressed, with wet hair and cheeks rosy from their steamy bath, Gillian and Argis made their way through the city, nodding and smiling at passersby, pretending it was an ordinary day. He followed her as a housecarl would do, as they climbed the stone stairs up to the Temple of Dibella.
Gillian opened the doors, and they walked inside. The entryway smelled of perfume and mountain flowers. After a minute or two, a tall, bronze-robed priestess rounded a corner and smiled at them. "I am Senna, of Dibella. How may I serve you?" she asked, in a low, musical voice.
"Well..." Gillian's cheeks blushed as she tried to figure out how to phrase the question, "w-we were wondering if…"
The priestess smiled and looked her up and down, and around her at Argis standing close by, his hand resting on the small of her back. "You would honor Dibella? Well, by the looks of you, and what I can sense…you already are. Love, sensuality…with trust and abandon…to be honest, it comes off you both in waves. Quite intoxicating," she said, taking a deep breath.
Gillian glanced at Argis, who had blushed a bit and was trying not to laugh. She turned back to the priestess. "Not exactly…oh, no we definitely want to honor Dibella, and we do…it's just that…"
Argis broke in. "We're actually looking for something a little…different. In a word, Mara."
The priestess rocked back a little, and looked at them from under her lashes. "This is…certainly the wrong city for that, my friends."
Gillian nodded, gesturing toward Argis with an open palm. "We know. But circumstances…"
The priestess was shaking her head again, her placating smile starting to slip. But just as Gillian was about to raise her voice, Senna's back stiffened, and she turned her head. "My lady?"
A teenage girl dressed in glowing, diaphanous robes walked toward them, and smiled. "You honor Dibella, and we welcome you…Companions."
Argis looked from Gillian to the young woman. Her voice was unearthly, echoing…like there were two people sharing her body. "I'm not…"
"No, but you are kind, and strong, and have been helping women in this city for years. You are welcome, even if you do not bear the name Companion."
Senna looked from Argis to Gillian, her eyes wide. "Sybil, these are…this is the dragonborn? She's part of the…"
The Sybil of Dibella smiled. "Yes, she is. And her man…so much desire, so much heart. And love…flesh and spirit. Yes, I know what it is you seek. It is within my power to grant your desire, this once. Follow me." She turned to walk toward the brazen doors at the end of the hallway.
Senna bowed toward Gillian and Argis and grasped their hands. "I'm sorry, I had no idea. The Sybil's been heartbroken by the cries of the women in this city, and the service you're doing for her and for them all…we can never repay." She looked at Gillian, her eyes sparkling. "Ah…you come from Jorrvaskr, yes? With the handsome twins?"
Gillian huffed and grinned. "Farkas and Vilkas were here?"
Senna smiled. "Oh, yes, they were. Maybe two months ago, for a short visit. We haven't been the same since they left. We revere beauty and sensuality, and those two are...memorable. Please give them my love when you return. Especially the big, sweet one."
Gillian grinned and blushed. "I will. Thank you."
The Sybil smiled over her shoulder as Gillian and Argis turned to follow her. They walked into the temple's inner sanctum and there, sitting near an altar dedicated to Dibella was a hooded, Dunmer woman. "Dinya, here are two you will wish to meet," she said in that strange, disembodied voice. "They honor Dibella and Mara in our current endeavor."
She rose and pulled back her hood. "These are of the Companions? Well met, indeed. We owe our gratitude and our love."
Gillian looked at the Sybil and at Argis, taking his hand. "My lady, I'm Gillian, of the Companions, and this," she motioned to Argis with their joined hands, "is Argis, my love. We wish to marry, and took a chance that Mara and Dibella would be together as they wait to hear the outcome of, well, of what's going on in the city. We would like…"
Dinya's smile grew wider. "Children, it is good that I am here, rather than my husband. A stickler for rules, he is. But I…listen to Dibella as well as Mara, and I will grant your request." She looked between Argis and Gillian. "Are you ready?"
Gillian smiled up at Argis, tears welling in her eyes. "I am. Now and forever."