Ugh, sorry if this chapter seems too short xC. I've been super busy all week and every time I would start writing I would hit writers block. So I hope this chapter is alright and again..sorry if it's too short D:. I know what I want for the next chapter so it will be better!
Just like Vilkas thought, he didn't get a wink of sleep the night before. First it was his thoughts keeping him awake, then it was Hope not returning to the tent until way later into the night. He had no idea what she was doing all that time, not until morning at least.
He got up early, before anyone else did and went for a small walk through the trees. After walking a few feet into the woods he came across a small, burnt out campfire and found a tree that had at least a dozen arrows sticking into it. When he found it, he lifted an eyebrow up at it and scoffed. 'Waist of arrows...' Is what he had thought.
But it was her way of getting out her frustrations last night, while she was doing so with shooting arrows, Vilkas was doing so with...something else. After finding that, he decided to head back to their camp and when he did, he saw that Aren and Hope were both up.
He scanned over Hope with his eyes and saw that she was just as tired as he was, she must of gotten less sleep than he did, if that was even possible. He then moved his eyes to Aren, who looked like he slept very well. His hair was even put together while Vilkas's was a skeevers nest and Hope's was tired up into a messy pony-tail. 'Milk drinker...' Is all Vilkas could think when he eyes Aren's clean clothes and hair.
"How did you sleep, my lady?" Aren asked Hope while approaching her. "Mmm..Fine..." Hope groans. She was sitting down next to a newly made camp fire with a piece of bread in hand. "Really?" Aren questioned with a raised eyebrow and smug grin. "You don't look like you slept very well." He pointed out while taking a seat next to her.
Vilkas watched Hope's eyebrows go down when he did so, something was telling him that she really wasn't in the fake flirty mood today. A half-grin forms on Vilkas's face as he watched Hope become more annoyed at Aren's intrusion.
"Did it get too cramped and cold in that small tent of yours?" Aren asked with his smug grin remaining. "Not cold, but definitely cramped..." She mumbled. "Hmph." Vilkas exclaimed after hearing that. He watched them for a moment longer and then walked towards their tent to pack it up.
It didn't take him long to take it down and once it was all packed, he returned it to the driver while also thanking him for it. By the time Vilkas was finished, Aren's parents were also finished with packing their stuff along with his. 'Spoiled brat.' Is all that comes to his mind when he watches them load up everything into the cart themselves.
"Alright folks, let's get back on the road so we can reach Ivarstead by lunch." The driver called to them. Hope looked over at the driver and watched him hop up to his seat. She then looked over to Aren's parents who were already in the carriage.
Aren got up from the ground and then extended a hand out for Hope to grab. She turns her head to it and furrows her eyebrows down. Aren gestured it out again, signaling for her to grab it. As she stared down at his hand, she could feel eyes burning into her from somewhere and there was only one pair of eyes that could burn through like that. Vilkas.
The corner of her mouth twitched up into a small grin. 'Time for some pay back.'
She slowly looks up at Aren with a sweet smile and then gently laid her hand into his. Aren returned the smile and carefully pulled her up to her feet. "Thank you." She said with her eyelashes batting. "Anything for you, my dear Hope." Aren replied while leaning down to her hand and planting a soft kiss on its surface. Hope responded with a soft giggle that made him blush.
'So we're back to this agian are we?' Vilkas thought to himself as he watched them with grimace on his face.
It took all but a few minutes for everyone to load up into the carriage and get back on the road. Instead of taking a seat next to Vilkas, Hope sat down close to Aren. She made sure that their shoulders and legs were touching. The look on Vilkas's face when she did so made her giggle on the inside.
'Should've expected this.' Vilkas thought to himself with a frown on his face. For the last half-hour, he watched them exchange silly compliments and listened to them flirt with each other. When he couldn't take it anymore, he got out his book to read, he thought maybe if he got lost in it he wouldn't have to hear a word they were saying. But it didn't work, since he got it out he's been stuck on the same sentence. Just like last night.
"You have very beautiful hair." Aren complimented as he watched Hope run her brush through it. "Thank you." She giggled. He watched her fingers dance around each other as she put her hair down into a long braid that hung down her back. He admired the way her red hair shined in the sunlight.
Once she had finished tying the tie around the bottom, Aren couldn't help but reach out and gently grab it. She let him, but she watched him closely. Aren slowly ran his thumb down on the top of the braid and then brought the very end of it up to his nose, he inhaled the scent of her braid deeply.
"Incredible." He breathed against it. A small shiver ran through Hope as she felt him play with it. He then shifted his eyes up to hers while keeping the braid pressed to his nose. "You slept in a small, cramped, open tent all night and yet, you're hair smells as fresh as hot cinnamon in the morning." He said with a charming smile while lowering her braid down from his nose.
She watched him slide the end of it down to his lips and then press a light kiss against it. RIIIIP! They both cringe at the sudden appearance of the ugly sound. They both then turn their heads towards Vilkas, who had just ripped a page out of his book.
Hope lifted an eyebrow up at him as she stared at him. He still had his head down into the book and in one of his hands, was the torn page. It looked like he was just about to turn the page but for some reason, it just ripped right out. She moved her eyes down to his hand and saw the page he was gripping was crinkled and torn where his fingers gripped into it.
The sight of it made the corners of her mouth twist up into a smirk. Vilkas slightly lifted his head and shifted his eyes up to Hope, when he saw the smug smirk on her face, he scowled and then quickly ducked his head back down into his book. His reaction was making every little creepy thing that Aren did, worth it.
"It seems you've torn the page." Aren pointed out. "Yeah no shit." Vilkas snapped, keeping his head down into his book. Aren's eyebrows shot up, shocked by his response. "Oh, don't mind him." Hope said with a wave from her hand aimed towards Vilkas.
"So tell me Aren." She said, averting his attention from Vilkas. "What are you guys going to Windhelm for?" She asked with a curious smile. Aren returned the smile and then fully turned his body towards her in his seat. "My parents are both highly respected friends of Ulfric, so they're taking me there to join the Stormcloaks and fight for Skyrim's freedom." He answered proudly.
Hope's eyebrows shot up, completely taken by surprise by that, but while she was surprised, Vilkas was amused and laughed. Aren quickly turned to Vilkas with his eyebrows furrowed. "What's so funny?" He asked. "You, being a soldier. It's funny." Vilkas answered with his book lowering down into his lap. He said it was funny, but he didn't have a smile on his face.
Aren scowled at him and then asked. "What's so funny about it?"
"You, being a Stormcloak. It's typical really." Vilkas answered.
"Yeah?" Aren challenged. "Do explain."
"It's typical because spoiled brats like yourself, who have no honor to speak of, go off and find a war-you know nothing about-to join, thinking it will earn you friends and lovers, when really all it will earn you is a blade through your gut and a name to be forgotten." His words hit like acid and Aren felt them.
"Spoiled brat you say?" Aren spat. "You know nothing about me and it seems you don't know any more about this war than I do, so who are you talk to me like that? As if I was some child who needs a lesson."
"Well it appears to me that you haven't had enough lessons as a child, so maybe I should show you one now." Vilkas growled.
The moment those words left Vilkas's lips, Aren stood to his feet-not caring about the moving carriage-and challenged Vilkas with a mean glare. Vilkas accepted that challenge when he also stood to his feet and met eye contact with him. Both of the dominant and stubborn males just stood there in a heavy silence, glaring deeply at one another.
Hope stayed sitting in her seat and watched them with wide eyes. She couldn't believe how fast that escalated. 'What must his parents think?' She wondered to herself as she shifted her eyes over to them.
They were both sitting as far away from them as they could and kept their heads down with their eyes shifted away in the opposite direction. Hope quickly furrowed her eyebrows down as she continued to stare at them. 'Are they really not going to step in? Or do they always let him do what he wants?' That question was answered when she saw them continue to look away and not even try to do anything to calm their son down.
'Spoiled brat indeed...' She silently agreed with Vilkas. She then moved her eyes back up to the them and just couldn't believe it when she saw they both had their chest's puffed out. As if they were two large Elk's, challenging each other over a female who was in heat. 'Okay this is getting ridiculous.'
Hope quickly stands to her feet and when she does, she carefully places both hands on both of the challenging males arms to calm them down. They both relax and turn their heads to her. "That's enough you two, no sense in getting into a fight over an argument." She said with a calm smile.
Aren returned Hope's calm smile while Vilkas sneered at her. "You're right." Aren said with an apologetic bow from his head. He then gently grabbed her hand and placed a kiss on it's surface. "Forgive me." He said with his eyes looking up to her face.
Vilkas quickly scoffed at them and then sat back down. He crossed his arms, leaned back in his seat and looked away from them. Having nothing to do with them for the rest of the ride there.
As Hope and Aren both sat back down, she shifted her eyes to Vilkas and saw a mixture of emotions painted on his face. First, she saw anger in his eyes, but then she noticed his mouth was curved into a disgusted frown, while his brow was furrowed with a combination of confusion and jealousy. Which was exactly what Hope wanted, because now he knows how she felt last night.
But Vilkas already knew that, because he too felt that way last night. He was disgusted with himself for starting such a thing with her and he was angry at himself for not finishing it, he was also confused to why he even did do it in the first place and confused with why she didn't stop him and what it could mean. What could it mean? There's that question again, one that's been bugging them both for quite some time.
For the rest of the ride, Vilkas kept himself quiet, kept himself in his thoughts while Hope kept having small conversations with Aren as well as his parents, which was surprising because they both had barely said a word since they've been on the road.
It felt like it was taking an eternity to reach Ivarstead and when they did, Vilkas couldn't of been more relieved. Finally it was over and finally, they can be away from the spoiled brat that was named Aren.
"Best of luck to you, Aren." Hope said with a smile. "And to you, my dear Hope." He said with a small nod from his head. "I do hope you two reach Riften safely, and also do be careful while on your travels. I would very much like to see you again, some day." He said with his charming smile that made Vilkas want to loose the food in his belly.
"You as well." Hope replied with a smile. 'Oh just go away already.' Is what Vilkas wantd to say, but he kept that to himself. It was almost over and he was almost gone, there was no sense in keeping him here any longer by starting a stupid argument.
After a few more silly compliments and goodbyes, Aren placed a kiss on Hope's hand and then climbed back onto the carriage. The driver whipped the straps, signaling the horse to move and right on his command, it did.
Hope waved to Aren as the carriage pulled away from them. Vilkas stood next to her with his arms crossed and brow furrowed. "That couldn't of ended any sooner." He mumbled as he turned away from Hope and walked towards the Inn. Hope lifted an eyebrow up at Vilkas and followed him with her eyes.
"What are you doing?" She asked. "Getting some lunch, I suggest you do the same thing because right after lunch, we're heading to Riften." He replied. "But isn't Riften a days journey from here?" She asked while quickly following after him.
"Only if you stop for breaks, if we hurry we might reach it before the days end." He answered. They both entered the Inn and were immediately greeted by the Innkeeper with a cheesy line that he and many others used. When they walked inside, Hope's eyes immediately went to the the waitress, who was sweeping up bread crumbs near one of the tables.
Watching the young waitress clean brought back memories for Hope. She remembered working until way late in the night, cleaning up after patrons that had way too much drink and eat. They weren't fond memories, but they were still memories and they made her feel home sick. 'I wonder if they got my letter.'
While she was lost in her thoughts and memories, Vilkas was already up at the counter, ordering them some drinks and food. "Would you and you're friend like some cheese? It's fresh." The Innkeeper told him with a smile. Vilkas thought about it for a moment and then turned around to ask Hope.
He lifted an eyebrow when he saw her still standing near the door with a lost look in her eyes. It confused him even more when he thought he saw sadness showing in her eyes for a moment. "Hey." He called to her, immediately knocking her out of it. She blinked a couple times and then quickly looked over to him.
He nudged his head in his direction for her to come over. She quickly caught on and rushed over. "What are you hungry for?" He asked casually. "Oh, I don't really care what you get." She said with a shrug as her eyes moved down to the floor. Vilkas lifted another eyebrow at her and then turned to the Innkeeper, answering his question from a moment ago with a nod. The Innkeeper quickly grabbed a knife and started carving some blocks of cheese off of a fresh wheel.
After they got their food, Vilkas led them to an empty table and then set down the platters while Hope took a seat. He sat down right next to her and then immediately grabbed food off the platters to set on his own plate.
While he was chowing down his food, Hope had only grabbed a single piece of meat and bread. Vilkas noticed this and moved his eyes from her plate, up to her face. "Not hungry?" He asked with a mouth full of food. "Not really." She answered after taking a small bite out of her bread.
"What? Is missing your lover making you so miserable that you're not hungry?" He teased, making Hope scoff and look away from him. Then, as she's sitting there, her lips curve into small grin. "Maybe..." She said with the best disappointed sigh she could come up with. She can't see his face but she can feel his eyebrows furrowing, which made her stomach tickle and made her want to giggle, but she holds it back.
"I thought he was weird and creepy at first, but then the more I talked to him and got to know him...I don't know..." She sighed again while hiding the smile on her face. Vilkas quickly scoffs in response. "You're kidding." He said with a hint of disgust in his voice.
"And you're jealous." She accused while turning back towards him. Vilkas scoffs again. "Please, I've got nothing to be jealous of." He replied. "Oh right, because you'd rather bed with a troll than me right?" She said with a little more venom than she meant to.
Her response surprised Vilkas, he raised his eyebrows up and turned his head to her. She didn't look at him, she was just staring at the wall in front of them but he could sense her unease and see a faint blush appear on the sides of her face. 'So that really got under her skin huh?'
"So..." A smirk slowly forms on his face. "Are you saying you want to sleep with me?"
Hope's eyes widened as she jumped out of her seat, and she did so, so fast that she bumped the table hard making their drinks spill. The commotion caused everyone in the tavern to turn and look. Vilkas was looking up at Hope with both his eyebrows raised again and then couldn't help but chuckle when he saw her face slowly turn red.
He then watched her take a deep breath and wipe some of the spilt water off her armor. Once she's done that, she slowly turns towards him with the best serious expression she could muster up. "I would rather bed with a cave bear than you." She said calmly and then, again calmy, turns away from him and walks towards the tavern door.
"I bet if you ask Camilla she'll tell you that there isn't much of a difference between me and one." He said with a smirk, causing Hope to stop in her tracks. He raises an eyebrow up with the smirk remaining on his face as he watches her muscles slowly tense. He then hears her take another deep breath and watches her leave the Inn.
"Well that was fun." He said to himself quietly with a chuckle following after. It was about time he was able to get pay back for how she was acting earlier. She may be unhappy with him for a while, but it was worthe it and they were now even.