Chapter LXXXV – Fatal Affections
He was never drinking again.
Well, that wasn't true of course. No one who ever thought that after a drunken night ever meant it, but he certainly wasn't going to drink for some time.
Except for mead.
How else would he get rid of a hangover?
He tried to open his eyes, but the light from the broken thatching on the roof was stinging him even through his eyelids.
He could feel Aeyrin shivering against him, trying to cling closer to him to warm up. The torn up blanket wasn't very effective. It looked like it was actually one of the banners from the walls, thrown on the bed when it was too used up.
Aeyrin stirred beside him, enveloping his torso with her arms. Her hands were freezing, but it was rather pleasant, given his current state. She buried her face in his chest and nuzzled against the fabric of his shirt lazily.
He groaned, turning on his side with effort. He draped his arms over her in turn, pulling her tightly against him.
For someone who claimed that he didn't 'get cuddly', he sure got affectionate when they were lying together, even when there was no chance in it leading to sex. With the state they were in, they would be lucky to actually get up.
It must have been way past noon.
The sun was shining sharply at them through the roof. There was loud snoring coming from the corner of the sleeping area – likely another passed out drunk who was staying at the cornerclub.
Aeyrin tried to disentangle herself from him, but he embraced her tighter, not letting go.
"Not yet… sleep…" he grumbled tiredly into her ear.
"I'm cold…" she protested. Her voice was muffled by his body when she buried herself into his chest further – he was a good source of heat, but it wasn't nearly enough in that cornerclub with the broken roof and old moldered walls.
He groaned again. As if she wasn't cold all the time… But he would probably feel better once he got some mead and food in him.
They scrambled off the bed with exhaustion slowly, while Malthyr was still snoring in the back of the room, face buried in the old flat pillow.
They really needed to get back to the Candlehearth Hall to recuperate.
…
"N'wah, I've been racking my brain since I woke up…" Ambarys grumbled half-morosely and half-excitedly. It was obvious he was somewhat impressed with Bishop's 'accomplishment' – if one could call getting plastered from Dunmer spirits an accomplishment.
"The only things of value I have is sentimental shit of no use to a snowberry. But I did figure out something…" he gave them a conspiratorial smile, pulling a folded piece of paper from his pocket.
"You remember Belyn Hlaalu? His cousin was an adventurer. She got a hold of an old map and came to Skyrim to follow up on it. The poor f'lah got killed before she could explore the place and the map stayed with Belyn. The s'wit asked for a month of free drinks for it, so you better be damn grateful."
Bishop unfolded the map tentatively.
"It's a… Dwemer site…" he mumbled, peering at the map. It was obvious from the layout with the large rectangular halls.
It was clear that it was only partial – whoever made it, they didn't get to the end of the complex. But it was detailed. So detailed that it would be worth exploring – with notes on traps and any still active mechanisms and automatons. And the fact that the maker of the map didn't get too deep only made it more probable that there was some potential loot left behind. Dwemer sites had the best treasures, they could really make good money from it, if they survived.
"A Dwemer ruin? Really?" Aeyrin beamed excitedly, like a child getting a present.
Bishop smirked at her eagerness and passed the map to her for safekeeping. It would be worth it only for that attitude of hers.
"Alright… thanks, Ambarys. You do know where it is, right?" he chuckled a bit, earning a scoff from Ambarys. The Dunmer waited for Aeyrin to fish out her map and marked the site on it promptly.
"Belyn checked it out in some history book. It's called Ralbard or Ralbadar or some such. You two be careful when you go. I hear those freaky machines are damn dangerous. Probably best that Belyn's cousin never made it there. Then again… she's dead anyways, so…" Ambarys chuckled with a brief shrug.
…
The Candlehearth Hall was bustling again.
Many patrons were enjoying the afternoon there, all before the sun set and the atmosphere got more tense again with the killer on the loose.
Yet instead of the exhausted frantic hustle that Susanna was in the previous days, today she was smiling widely at everyone, cheerfully running around the common room while she brought everyone drinks and food. She had a constant dreamy smile on her face.
"You look… chipper," Aeyrin smiled at her when she finally found a minute to sit down with them. Her cheeks were already flushed from indulging herself occasionally along with the patrons.
"And you two look like you've been mauled by a sabre cat," she laughed in response.
They were still somewhat wrecked from the previous night, but the food and the drinks helped some.
"I… have to tell you something…" Susanna giggled with a sly smile on her lips, as if she had a secret she couldn't wait to share.
"I kind of… met someone… last night," the blush on her cheeks turned deeper red and she bit her lower lip coyly. "After we all left the cornerclub, he caught up to me and… well… we talked for a while on the streets… and he invited me to his place tonight," she smirked knowingly, a pleased smile on her lips.
"You know… for the first time since Narvur, I actually liked someone. I can't remember the last time I was excited about the prospect. And for the first time… I want to… have something maybe more permanent… umm… no offence…" she realized herself, throwing Bishop an uncertain look.
He laughed at her trepidation heartily, dismissing the remark with a wave of his hand. Not like he ever even wanted something more 'permanent' with her either. They both knew that the one night was all there was to it.
"Who was it?" Aeyrin asked her eagerly. It looked like she also wanted to change the subject from their past 'dalliance' as quickly as possible.
"Revyn, right?" Bishop gave her a knowing grin. He remembered vaguely the Dunmer giving the barmaid looks. He also remembered them being almost joined at the hip throughout the evening.
"I… really shouldn't say. We promised each other to keep it a secret for now," Susanna giggled again. She was like a young girl with her attention captured by a boy for the first time.
"Come on, you can tell us," Aeyrin prodded further, poking her arm teasingly. It was nice, seeing her this happy. She deserved some contentment in her life after everything she's been through. And to be honest, Aeyrin did feel somewhat proud of herself for helping these events along.
"Hmm… I really shouldn't. Besides, if things go well, you'll find out soon enough. He really seemed to like me a lot. I think… I think this could really turn into something special," Susanna bit her lower lip again and looked dreamily at the table. "Anyway… what about you two? Did you finally get your reward?" she deflected, turning to Bishop with a brief chuckle.
"From Ambarys, yeah," Bishop smirked. He was wary of exploring Dwemer ruins, but with that map, it didn't seem so daunting. It couldn't have been much larger than the mapped out areas, hopefully. And it was too good of a tip to pass up.
"From Ambarys? Who else are you expecting a reward from?" Susanna gave him a curious look, but his suggestive smirk and meaningful look towards Aeyrin gave her the answer instantly.
Aeyrin flushed as if on command, groaning and hiding her face in her hands. It elicited a laugh from the both of them.
"Well, enjoy yourselves, but I hope you'll stay here until sundown. Elda said that the bard was coming back to play here again for the afternoon," Susanna smiled. She was likely expecting a different reaction from them than shock.
"The bard… you mean Alec? I thought he went back to… other provinces," Aeyrin said uncertainly. There was no way the man could have been back already, right? Unless he didn't spend any time wherever he went at all. And more importantly, why would he? He didn't want to play in Windhelm in the first place.
"I don't know about that. I don't have any more information than you," Susanna shrugged noncommittally, the smile and dreamy look still on her face.
Bishop and Aeyrin shared an uncertain expression.
It was suspicious at best.
…
Bishop was not happy at all about seeing that fop again.
It did sound pretty suspicious that he was back in Windhelm, but there was no reason to concern themselves or getting involved in any way.
Besides, if his return had something do with Ulfric, he was best avoided.
But she insisted, of course.
She wanted to make sure that he was alright after they left him at Ulfric's mercy after the concert.
It was strange that he was going to play at Candlehearth again – the last time he was there, it was only to meet Aeyrin, if what he said was true. Why would he play there again? It was unlikely that he somehow found out about her return if he wasn't even in the city. And why would he want to see her again anyways? She made it clear last time that she was not interested in being the subject of his songs.
The telltale feather appeared first, emerging from the staircase leading to the common room, followed by the colorful hat and finally the man himself.
"Alec!" Aeyrin rushed towards him right away, eager to find out what was going on.
"Oh… my lady… what are you doing here?" Alec's brows creased somewhat worriedly. He looked different from last time – weary, gloomy and as if all the suave charm left him.
What happened to him?
He eyes seemed to dart around frantically for a brief while before they settled on her, waiting for her response with palpable impatience.
"I… I just had some business in the city… I was more surprised to hear that you were back… I wouldn't have thought you'd like to play here again," Aeyrin said a little nervously. His strange mood rattled her.
"Yes… well… the audience was superb here. I suppose this city grew on me…" he looked around again. This time around his speech seem to lack the feeling and drama in the eloquent superfluous manner. It was oddly unsettling.
She was somewhat dumbfounded. He seemed so eager to get away from her. The interest he showed her the last time was now completely gone. She found it very hard to keep up the conversation this way, but she wanted to know what happened.
"I… see. Alec, I just… I was hoping that… you didn't get in trouble after the concert. It's just… Ulfric seemed upset and…" she trailed of, uncertain of how to continue. To be honest, she half-expected him to have been dead. Maybe she was thinking too little of Ulfric's methods, but to her, it seemed like he would take any insult to him very poorly.
"No, no, no. No trouble at all, milady. I… I really should… I should be playing already," he explained rather hastily, then gave her an obviously feigned polite smile. A second later he turned his attention to a few patrons who were looking at him expectantly at the other side of the room.
"Oh… alright… can we… can we speak after your performance?" she asked, completely thrown off by his attitude.
"I… would prefer if we didn't, my lady. I am not staying here overnight and I should not move through the streets too late in the dark carelessly. Besides… I think we talked about everything after my last performance," he brushed her off, heading towards the other side of the room instantly while completely ignoring her.
What was that?
Was he really that angry that she didn't want to travel with him?
But why was he acting so strangely this entire time? The conspicuous looking around, the strange lack of flowery speech and expressive gestures. And he looked so… ragged.
She returned to their table dejectedly. At times she still looked over the small crowd forming around the bard.
An easy smile spread on Alec's face when he started talking to a young pretty woman. He grabbed his lute with a confident grin, his eyes steadfast on her. It reminded her of the eager way he looked at her when they met.
Perhaps he really was upset with her and she was just imagining the suspicious circumstances.
She was probably just starting to get paranoid about Ulfric – his behavior certainly put one on edge.
…
* "Wait a minute! So you get drunk out of the Outer Realms and I'm supposed to do whatever you come up with?" Aeyrin giggled at him when he pinned her against the wall. He didn't waste a second after they entered the room, murmuring in her ear something half-intelligible about 'claiming his reward'.
"That's right, sweetness. Don't act like you weren't impressed," he chuckled against her skin, nipping at the side of her neck teasingly. His hands started to roam all over her body in eager hungry squeezes.
"Right… so impressive…" she laughed in response. Her heartbeat was getting faster at his exploits, her breathing steadily getting heavier. She really wasn't impressed, but on the other hand, she was quite excited and curious by what he would come up with as his 'reward'.
"So… what exactly… do you think your… feat… deserves?" she chuckled again, arching her back against the wall with a soft whimper as one of his hands slipped inside her trousers, rather faster than she expected, and teased her against her undergarments mercilessly.
"Mmmm… I was thinking…" Bishop murmured. She felt him grin against the skin of her collarbone. "You remember… our first night… at the warrens?" The hand in her trousers moved inside her undergarments, his fingers teasing over her slit, rubbing over her clit and making her moan out loudly. She quickly placed a hand over her mouth to stifle the sound.
Did he mean the gag? She did rather enjoy that back in Ivarstead, but she still kind of expected him to come up with something new.
"We… already… did… nnhg!" she gasped out, her hand abruptly returning to muffle the sound when his fingers entered her. His other hand landed firmly on her buttocks, squeezing her lower half towards him. The back of her head kept pressing against the wall, her free hand supporting her by leaning against the closed door, fingers digging into the wood.
"Not the… gag… princess…" he groaned, his lips and tongue moved over the crease between breasts that the tight tunic created. The sighs she was letting out were driving him wild.
What did he mean 'not the gag'? What else… oh…
"You… you want to… tie me up?" she gave him an uncertain look in between her heavy breaths while his fingers kept moving inside her languidly. Ordinarily, she would have thought that she'd feel put off by the idea of being so helpless… but… then again, being so helpless with Bishop in the room made her somewhat excited…
It was so strange how things that made her feel so afraid back then suddenly felt so tantalizing – she couldn't stop imagining what he would do to her like that.
"Yeah… you want to?" he stopped nipping at her skin for a while and raised his eyes from her cleavage. The movements of his fingers inside her stopped for a while as he gave her a rather earnest look, waiting for her reaction.
The lascivious smile he gave her when she nodded breathlessly said it all.
He withdrew his hands from her and they quickly started to undress each other. She wondered for a while if he intended to include the gag again, but all too often he seemed eager to actually hear her. She couldn't really help herself when she was entangled with him, her concerns about being loud usually disappeared when she got too caught up in their ministrations.
It was no different now, if anything, the prospect of what was going to happen made any other thought in her mind dissipate practically instantly.
They made their way towards the bed quickly. He tore himself away from her after a while, turned to the packs on the floor and grabbed the length of rope fastened to one of them.
She waited impatiently on the bed, watching him cut off a measure of the rope with his hunting knife and approach her with the familiar intensity in his eyes.
He placed the rope down on the bed beside her, moving on top of her. His hands grasped her wrists and nudged her arms upwards above her head.
She stayed like that obligingly when his grip on her wrists left her, but her body kept writhing against his in anticipation.
He started to fasten the rope on her, winding her wrists tightly together, the rough strings scratching her skin. He gave her a questioning look, but she only nodded at him to continue. For some reason, the uncomfortable feeling of the rope only spurred her further – it weirdly reminded her of his rough stubble against her skin. She loved that feeling.
He dragged the ends of the rope towards the headboard of the bed and tied them around one of the wooden planks with enough room to still maneuver her body to some measure.
When he was finally done, he moved his attention back to her, quickly descending on her lips. Their passionate kiss made her want to run her hands in his hair or over the hard muscles on his back.
But she couldn't.
It was oddly frustrating and exciting at the same time.
His lips moved down her body, stopping for a while to tease her heaving breasts, his hands squeezing them, firmly. He moved lower gradually as she writhed under him, moaning at the feeling of his mouth on her.
He stopped to lick at the wetness between her legs, the tip of his tongue teasing along her slit, making her spasm under him. A frustrated groan escaped her throat. His hands moved to the backs of her thighs, raising her lower body and making her drape her legs over his shoulders eagerly to give him more access.
The quivering inside her was getting uncontrollable.
His tongue entered her depths swiftly. His hands left her upper thighs, letting her support her weight herself by her legs around his neck. His left hand traveled back up her body to squeeze her breast again, the other one teasing over her wetness alongside his tongue.
"Gods..." she gasped out when two of his fingers entered her. His mouth was suckling at her nub along with his thumb occasionally strumming over it, his little finger was teasingly rubbing over the area around her other entrance, making her jolt in surprise and unexpected pleasure. Divines, how was he able to undo her so fast?
She felt herself get close, the teasing on so many fronts making her spasm frantically, her walls clenching around his fingers.
Then suddenly, just as she felt like she would get over the edge, he stopped, withdrawing from her entirely.
She whined desperately at him and her eyes snapped open to see the smug smirk on his face.
"Not yet, princess," he chuckled. He lowered himself back onto her, kissing her deeply. She could taste herself on his tongue.
His hard cock rubbed against her, but he didn't enter her yet. He was waiting for her body to frustratingly calm down without release. She got the urge to touch herself, tugging at her bindings several times with an exasperated groan.
"Something wrong?" he smirked at her again, his eyes merry and teasing.
"Bish… please…" she moaned, rubbing herself against him eagerly, her arms tugging at the rope again, unable to move things along.
He watched her in amusement for a while. Her desperate struggle for release was exciting him even further. No one else could give that to her just then. She needed him… it felt strangely intoxicating. He wanted her to need him. Not just now, not just like this.
He wanted her to need him all the time.
Like he needed her.
He never thought he could find himself so attached to anyone. Just the thought of losing her gave him an unpleasant pit in his stomach.
But he shouldn't think about that.
Right now, everything was perfect.
Her black eyes looked at him pleadingly, her body still writhing under him in desperation.
She wrapped her legs around his waist, aligning herself with the tip of him, but her bindings didn't allow her to move further, making her groan in frustration yet again.
He chuckled one last time before slowly entering her, filling her languidly and savoring the long moan she gave out along with the tightness of her warm walls around him.
"Ah… Gods! Bishop!" she moaned out when he started to thrust into her, hard. The sound of his name in that lustful tone made him groan loudly, biting into the skin of her breasts hungrily while his hands kneaded them, moving along to the rhythm of his thrusts.
He felt her clench him inside tighter, her walls quivering around him wildly. She was close, but he got the strange urge to feel that desperate need from her again.
He withdrew suddenly, watching her face twist in frustration, her legs tightening around him, urging him to continue. His hands grabbed at her thighs firmly, forcing her to release her clutch on him.
"Bishop… please… I need…" she breathed heavily. Her breasts were heaving tantalizingly, sweat pooling over her chest and forehead.
He waited for a while again as his eyes roamed all over her, taking in every detail.
He grabbed her by the hips then, flipping her over on her knees. The knot around the headboard twisted, tightening the rough fastenings around her wrists while her elbows bent to support her weight, leaving her hips raised towards him.
He entered her again in this position almost instantly, their mutual moans and groans started to rise on frequency as his pace quickened gradually.
His hands hugged her from behind and he firmly grabbed her breasts, pinching her nipples in between the heavy thrusts.
Finally she could feel the sweet buildup once more, desperately hoping he wouldn't stop again.
At last he didn't. Another loud moan escaped her lips when she finally felt the powerful jolt course through her and the sweet pulsating around him made him follow suit only a minute later.
"Fuck… that was… fuck…" he gasped deeply, trying to catch his breath.
He withdrew from her after a while and turned her back over. Unfortunately, he did that the other way than he should have, tightening the rope again a bit painfully.
His eyes still held the same hungry intensity that made her go wild and the urge to continue their ministrations was stirring up inside her again.
"More…" he groaned, moving to kiss her deeply once more.
At that point she wasn't even sure who that reward was for.
…
A loud banging on the door woke him up.
What was it? It was barely after dawn.
Of course Aeyrin didn't wake up at that.
Bishop got up groggily, securing the fur blanket over her and finding his trousers on the floor.
This all seemed too familiar.
He just hoped it wasn't another dragon.
He opened the door only a fraction, this time careful not to get mauled by some overeager tit forcing their way into the room.
There was a man in Stormcloak armor outside it, staring at him with level look.
"What?" Bishop grumbled at him.
If that fucking Ulfric was trying something...
"Emergency town meeting in an hour in front of the Palace. Mandatory," the man pronounced. He almost managed to turn on his heel before Bishop stopped him.
What the fuck was that? A town meeting? Was Ulfric now gonna torture an elf publically or something?
"Why? We're just travelers," Bishop narrowed his eyes at the soldier. He was really hoping to get out of whatever this shit was.
"Doesn't matter. Mandatory for everyone. New orders coming in. There's been another murder," the man nodded and this time he really left in a hurry.
Another? Fuck, this was probably gonna get bad. Who knew what shit Ulfric came up with this time?
He wondered just who was skilled enough to get past all the soldiers at night.
Well, it was safer to see what happened anyways.
No need to give Ulfric any reason to single them out.
…
They still had some time before the meeting, but they decided to leave the inn anyway.
There was a strangely tense and uncomfortable atmosphere there, but then again, the streets weren't any better.
A large crowd by one of the underpasses caught their attention.
It was a rarely visited place, draped in utter darkness in the night – there was only one thing that could be there that would attract so many people.
They approached tentatively, weaving through the crowd carefully to see the source of the commotion.
The body was propped against one of the walls in a sitting position, no blood anywhere around. An unpleasant alchemical scent was coming off of it.
A young woman, Nord.
Long blond hair was flowing over her shoulders, a simple lithe red dress covering them.
Her face… gone.
There was an occasional pulpy mass in its place, covering the skull in several places.
Someone made a meticulous care to remove the skin of her face.
But even without it, anyone who knew the girl could recognize her.
.
* Kink warning: edging, tying up/em/p
