Author's Note:

More smut already? Damn, what was going on with me when I was writing these chapters? :D If you want to skip it, it's again only in the last section of the chapter.

Otherwise, enjoy :) We're nearing the second to last longer plotline soon. I hope you all enjoy it, as well as these few chapters in between.

Chapter CXXXII – In Exile

"Bishop?"

Aeyrin probed him with a quiet voice while throwing him a tentative uncertain look.

He hasn't spoken since they left the city. In fact, he hasn't spoken much at all, aside from the outburst of swear words at the news.

He still looked angry. And, at times, it felt like he was about to say something, but he always stopped himself. She knew that she had messed up. Again. But there was nothing to do but move forward. And for that, she needed him to finally yell at her or something. This incessant brooding was excruciating.

Bishop turned his eyes to her, but when she didn't speak further, he fastened them back on the road ahead.

This was exactly what he knew that would happen. And if anything, it only confirmed what was already certain about. He could not tell her about Thorn. Because no matter how adamantly he convinced her to stay away, that stubborn woman simply wouldn't. Because she thought that she could fix things there was no fixing for.

But… that fucking Tullius. She would have left well enough alone if it wasn't for him. Bishop wasn't sure himself what else she was supposed to do. And he knew that this would be her argument anyway. And it would be right. He would never ask her to pledge herself to the Legion to keep his secret. It was lucky enough that she didn't want to participate in the war on her own – he couldn't really watch her back in the midst of that slaughter. The Coldharbour would fill with lava before he let her take part in that because of him. Especially if it went against her principles. He knew how much that would hurt her.

He still felt like she shouldn't have done this. She promised him that she wouldn't try to fix this for him. But every time an accusation popped into his head, an uncomfortable realization dawned on him a mere second later. He was doing the exact same thing.

Why couldn't you just talk to me?

It was obvious. She knew his reactions all too well. And he knew hers. That's why he couldn't 'just talk to her' about Thorn just like she couldn't have talked to him about Tullius and the bounty.

Why would you think that you can fix this on your own?

How stupid the question was. Neither of them could. And yet both of them tried in their own way. He knew that the answer to why they were acting like this was the same, no matter who asked who the questions.

To protect you.

They were almost at the border of the Whiterun Hold. Unlike the last time in Haafingar, no one was accompanying him to ensure his departure. Perhaps because the Jarl didn't want to spread the word just yet. It would only mean that he had to deal with the nobles.

They packed whatever things they thought they might need and headed east to Ivarstead and High Hrothgar swiftly, leaving the city, not even two hours after Aeyrin's meeting with Balgruuf.

Aeyrin tasked Lydia with hunting down Aela at Jorrvaskr and giving her Aeyrin's apologies, as well as with finally talking to Saadia about her feelings. She was eager to know if their affections were mutual. Lydia deserved someone to share the house with on a more regular basis. She looked so much happier lately. But Aeyrin had no idea when they would be back. How were they supposed to travel like this anyway? Not allowed into the entire Hold…

Well… she was allowed there.

"Can you say something? Please?" she whined at Bishop a bit desperately.

"Not much to say, princess," he grumbled. He didn't like her looking so guilty, especially since he still wasn't sure if he had any right to be mad at her.

He was more pissed at Tullius. And Casavir. If he didn't poison her, none of this would have happened. There would have been no stupid conviction at the court and Tullius would have never seen the pardon from Elisif.

"I know that I messed up. I'm so sorry, I just…"

"Stop," he sighed. She apologized a thousand times already when she was telling him what had happened. "Look, I am pissed off, but… I don't know what else you should have done. Not like I'd want you to bow down to the fucking Empire because of me," he grumbled morosely.

"Y-yeah… I didn't know what else to do either. I just… what are we gonna do now? Never come here again?" she looked at him pleadingly, as if he could offer her a solution.

"It's… not that bad, sweetness. I've been avoiding these bounties before, when me and Jules came back to Skyrim. It's not like there's that many patrols on the roads. They're easy to avoid. The city is worse… but… if it's something important… I kinda know another way in," he smirked at her a bit. Learning the smuggler routes for safe getaways was like an initiation in the Guild. And if he needed to, he could sneak into the city in the middle of the night, maybe with an invisibility potion, just to be sure.

That was a bit better than she had originally feared. He was right about the roads. And they could just travel through the wilderness instead while in Whiterun Hold. But still…

"And… what happens if they catch you here?" she bit her lip nervously. She was afraid that she already knew the answer to that.

"With a bounty this big… I assume that it's the axe outright," he shrugged somewhat disinterestedly but a disturbed cringe still appeared on his face briefly. "Not like I'd let them catch me, princess," he gave her a reassuring smile, but it came out rather weak. It was clear that the thought of any of that disturbed her as much as it did her.

Gods, she couldn't feel any worse about this!

But at the very least, they didn't really have to say in Whiterun. Aela said that her matter was not urgent, so she would surely wait until… well… until something happened and they could come back.

Aeyrin nodded her head absentmindedly, half-lost in thought. "Well… we don't need to stay here right now. We'll try to avoid Whiterun when we can. Just to be safe."

…

The two of them stayed hidden below the watchtower, waiting to determine the beast's direction of flight.

The lithe bronze and purple dragon appeared on the horizon around Valtheim towers, clearly hunting along the gorge that they were traveling through some time ago. They had managed to hide in the half-crumbled wooden structure by the river, near what seemed to be an abandoned prison, judging from the bars on the holes in the wall and the nearby watchtower giving them shelter.

It was odd to hide from the dragon, but neither of their experiences with these smaller colorful beasts left them very confident. And since they were nowhere near a settlement and the dragon would likely just return into the mountains or harass some bandits, they didn't feel so bad about avoiding it.

It was a bit disheartening to be hiding like this though. Especially after all their defeats lately, in battle and otherwise. Now they were even cowering before enemies that they should be used to by now.

They waited for a while, watching tentatively as the dragon glided back and forth above the gorge, searching for prey.

But after a while of coming up empty, the beast decided that it had enough.

With what almost sounded like an annoyed huff of its nostrils, the dragon perched atop a cliff above the gorge, laying its head down and closing its eyes.

Wasn't it going to leave? Wasn't it in danger like this?

These colorful dragons really seemed… bolder.

"I think we have no choice. It could be waiting there for ages," Aeyrin whispered to Bishop.

He gave her an uncertain look full of concern. They still haven't killed one of these things without her passing out afterwards for days. But maybe it was just her weakened state back then in Solitude. Still… he'd rather not risk it.

But she was right. And sneaking past the dragon was not an option. They couldn't have it lurking behind their backs during their travels.

"Alright… not like I wanna spend all day crouching here," he grumbled, but the worried expression was still on his face. Before they retreated from their hiding place, he gave her a brief kiss, murmuring something about 'being careful'. And once they were out in plain sight, he drew his bow instantly, aiming straight at the dragon's closed eye.

At least it wasn't moving yet.

The dragon stayed oblivious until the arrow hit, piercing its eye with precision.

The creature roared in agony and it instantly fastened its only hale eye on Bishop with a hateful glint. "Hi Fen Aus, Joor!" the hissing deep voice echoed through the canyon and its maw opened. It only took a second before the familiar purple light began forming at the back of it.

Bishop rolled out of the way instantly and pressed himself against the cliffside below the beast, just as its Shout hurled over the area he was occupying only a few seconds ago.

"KRII!"

The red glow enveloped the dragon, by which Aeyrin finally got its attention. It snapped its head towards her, tilting it to the side, before it spoke again: "Dovahkiin. Kren, Sosaal!"

The dragon heaved, raising on its hind legs. It stepped over the stones beneath its claws as some of the chunks of the cliff fell down, forcing Bishop to quickly roll away from his hiding place again. But he did not stay idle. Just as he regained his steady footing once more, he immediately shot another arrow at its now exposed belly, making it roar again in agony.

The dragon took off after the attack. It began hovering slightly above the cliff with its sights still set on Aeyrin. It seemed like nothing could diverge its attention from the desired prey now. Bishop couldn't do much but draw his bow again, just as it readied itself to charge at her, down where she stood.

At the last second, the corner of Aeyrin's eye caught something in the dragon's ready stance. The way it clutched one of the large stones on the cliff tightly in its claw… she noticed the cunning plan. She had no idea that these creatures would resort to trickery.

But the beast could bring it on. She was done being weak. The influential and powerful may have thought to toy with her and manipulate her, but she'd be damned if she let a dragon do the same!

The beast charged, just as expected, but before it hurled itself at her in great speed, its foot jerked back over the rocks of the cliff, kicking the large chunk, which it had been clinging onto with its claw until now, down purposefully, straight at Bishop.

He noticed too late. The boulder suddenly obscured the sun and began descending on him faster than he could react.

"TIID!"

The next thing he knew, he was on the ground, with his body hurting all over the place, as if he was forcefully thrown down. It took him a second before he noticed that Aeyrin was straddling his hips and clutching the leather on his chest.

It didn't take long to figure out that she had managed to throw him out of the way of the boulder, which was now laying only a stone's throw away from them. The ground under it was visibly cracked and the stones of the cobbled path were very damaged. That would have killed him instantly!

The dragon looked around in confusion, standing right where Aeyrin used to be before she decided to alter the passing of time.

It looked pretty angry.

She disentangled herself from Bishop and charged at the dragon as quickly as she could.

The dragon opened its maw again, in anticipation of her attack but, this time, there was no visible light there.

What was it…?

"FUS RO DAH!"

The strangely distorted but familiar words echoed through the canyon, throwing her off her feet instantly and hurling her towards the cliffside with overwhelming force.

"FEIM!"

Her back pressed to the rock harmlessly. It was such a strange feeling, being hurled at such speed with no impact afterwards. She was lucky that her instincts took over. That crash might have really done some damage.

She fell to the ground, landing in a half-kneel, and collected herself instantly in order to charge the dragon again. Before she could make even a few steps, an arrow swished next to her, hitting the dragon's jaw. And just as she was reaching it, its maw opened again and the beast obviously chose its most daunting weapon in its arsenal. The ominous purple light appeared at the back of its throat. Aeyrin knew that she had to avoid it at all costs, but ending this battle once and for all would be much better.

"TIID!"

She never stopped running as she unclasped her mace, enveloped in bright flames. When she reached the beast, she smashed it against its head once, twice, then into its hale eye. She rushed towards its wing, but by that time, the Shout had already dissipated and time started to flow again.

A deafening roar echoed through the canyon again as a sudden overwhelming pain struck the beast after Aeyrin's covert attack. She used its moment of reeling from the agony to smash at the wing, making the enchanted fire of her mace singe it mercilessly.

Another arrow swished through the air into the dragon's head and with that, at last, it slumped down, unable to cling to life any longer.

Finally! But now the worst part was still to come.

When Aeyrin was sure that it was dead, she hurried over to Bishop, who was already running towards her with his bow sheathed. She hurled herself into his arms, dragging them both to kneel on the ground in a tight embrace almost instinctively. If Esbern's theory was correct, the same sensations that had made her pass out the last time near Solitude would await her – it tried to use the purple Shout last.

"You're gonna be fine, princess. You're gonna be fine," Bishop whispered into her ear soothingly. "Because if you're not, I'm gonna have to lug you all the way to some temple. And I can't do that with all your shit on. So I'm gonna be undoing your armor in the middle of the road, while you're unconscious. And if someone sees that and recognizes you, they're gonna be fucking after me too! So you better be fine!"

She couldn't help but snicker at his concerns. The talk did pleasantly distract her from what was bound to come.

It took a few more seconds before she felt the light enter her again.

She felt the horrible pain on her skin again, and now when she suspected what it did, she could recognize the sensations. It was killing her. Every part of her. Every inch of her skin was being devoured by a thick sticky mass of death. It crawled through her skin, making it unfeeling, numb. She could feel all the nerves dying rapidly and then it was like she had no skin at all. It was eating through her flesh and she felt light-headed. She was pretty sure that she couldn't handle any more of the pain. It would eat through her entire being, killing her slowly. She could feel it seeping through her bones and to her organs. They were all contracting in painful spasms, one by one dying… and… she should be dead too…

This isn't real.

She felt her heart clench painfully as its beating slowed to a complete stop.

This isn't real. You'd be dead. Look at yourself!

She forced her eyes open, slowly focusing on the glint of the gold-bronze armor in the setting sun. Of course she was fine! She always was! Why couldn't she realize that right away?!

But at least she realized it now.

The pain slowly subsided and she looked up at Bishop. His eyes were firmly closed and he clutched her to himself as if he was holding on for dear life.

Well… she couldn't blame him, after the last time.

But she was fine.

After so much defeat, after so much anxiety, she triumphed against something.

Not just something! Something that almost killed her the last time when she absorbed this kind of soul. Something that almost killed Bishop in combat too. She got through it all. And she saved him from the boulder, on top of that.

Oddly enough, this was just what she needed to feel at least a little more… confident. At ease.

"Bishop." She smiled at him and gently pressed her lips to his jaw, riling him up from his silent plea for her wellbeing.

His eyes snapped open instantly and he looked her over with a bit of astonishment. "That… was faster than I thought. Are you alright?" he brushed his hand over her cheek.

She only nodded at him in response. She felt even more reassured by the palpably proud smile that he gave her. He leaned down to kiss her languidly before they disentangled themselves from each other.

With the dragon gone, they might even make it to Ivarstead before nightfall.

…

"What? No gag this time?"

Bishop chuckled as Aeyrin pushed him down onto the bed, straddling his lap eagerly.

The Vilemyr Inn was very quiet, this late at night. And she usually got too self-conscious about their antics in the smaller inns with nothing but old wooden doors separating them from the common rooms. But this time she didn't seem to be.

She blushed fiercely at his question, avoiding his eyes, and she gave him a somewhat suggestive smile with a shrug before she moved her hands down to the lacings of his trousers.

After what felt like a long time, she actually felt empowered with her mind cleared of the unpleasant thoughts of defeat and helplessness plaguing her lately. At least for now. She was sure that it wasn't going to last long. Every time when she felt like she got better at dealing with things, handling her powers or having the path revealed clearly in front of her, something was just around the corner to break her down again.

But Master Therien always said that was just life. It wouldn't be lived to the fullest without its constant ups and down.

And she wasn't going to concern herself with any of it just now.

Bishop seemed in a more elevated mood too ever since their battle with the dragon. Who knew that a little bit of adrenaline would make them both feel this much better?

She unlaced his trousers, but she didn't undress him further yet, only moving her hand to rub over his cock through the fabric. He chuckled at her antics, stroking over her hair for a while, before she hooked her hands under the hems of his clothes and slid them down his thighs.

She moved herself down along his bared body and licked over his length once, slowly, languidly. He groaned at her treatment but, a second later, she felt him grip her hair and pull her head away from his lap.

"Hold on a bit, love. Come here," he smiled at her affectionately and gestured for her to sit on his lap again.

She obliged and planted herself firmly onto his groin, but she didn't stay idle and began rubbing herself gently against him eagerly. He chuckled again before he sat up on the bed and took her into his embrace with his mouth enveloping hers into a deep kiss. His tongue slipped between her lips only a second later, teasing along her own.

Bishop bit her lower lip gently when they parted after a long exchange, before he yanked her shirt off and moved his hands to her breasts and his mouth down to her neck, suckling and biting at her skin. The dark bruise was already gone. Now he needed to replace the bad memory with a pleasant mark of his own. She moaned throatily as he sucked hard on her neck, pinching her hardened nipples all the while.

He continued the ministrations for quite a while, driving her crazy with anticipation. He let his hands fall off her after a while and raised them to urge her to take off his tunic. She eagerly obliged and once the clothes were disposed of, she began running her hands over his hard muscles with a pleased purr. She kissed the stubble on his jaw, letting it tingle her lips pleasantly, before she moved lower, nipping gently at his collarbone, then tracing a line with her tongue back up his neck.

He nibbled at the pointed tip of her ear, eliciting a high-pitched gasp from her, before he reluctantly let go of her breasts. But he moved his hands over to her ass instantly instead, squeezing her cheeks with palpable hunger. He hooked his fingers under her trousers and undergarments and started sliding them down slowly.

With a frustrated groan she rose herself up from him, stumbling a little in her half-undressed state. She quickly bent down to undo her boots and remove her trousers completely, but he stopped her with a lascivious smirk on his lips.

"Turn around when you do that," he chuckled, making her redden even more than she already did. She stumbled a bit again as she turned around, now with her back to him while he still sat on the bed, half-undressed.

She bent down much slower this time, and she felt Bishop's fingers brush over her wet slit only a second later. He didn't push his fingers in and he avoided her eager nub, only teasing her mercilessly around any spots where she ached to be touched.

She let out a frustrated groan while she tried to undo her boots in her frazzled state. It took her so much longer than it normally would as his insistent fingers kept prodding around her folds, teasing her wet lower lips.

Finally she was done and she slid her clothes down in a swift, impatient motion, kicking them off somewhere haphazardly.

She was gonna get back at him for that.

She knelt down between his thighs and she shot him a demure smile. She moved her hands to untangle the lacing of one of his boots, very slowly, while her mouth hovered right above his hard cock and her hot breath began tickling him mercilessly.

He let out a frustrated groan and she flicked her tongue over him instantly, but very briefly, making him once more groan at her. She ran her tongue over his entire length, suckling at the tip, but once more, she quickly stopped again. She was done with one boot in the meantime and she moved her hands to the other one. His hand gripped at her hair, trying to press her down on his cock a bit to indicate his need, but she adamantly refused to give in. She merely gave him a sly smirk when he let up after, only a little while, and she continued the relentless teasing.

He let out a rather pained chuckle and his hand started stroking her cheek lovingly instead. She could still feel the strain in his touch though, even when he stroked her so gently.

They shared an affectionate smile and he leaned down and grabbed her cheeks in the palms of both of his hands to kiss her again. She could feel his body shift instantly while his mouth still remained locked to hers, and she noticed only too late that he used the moment to untangle his boot with a deft hand, before he lodged the heel against the ground and yanked it off. He quickly withdrew from her then, shifting his hips to get rid of the last of his clothes as quickly as he could.

"Cheater," she snickered at him before she turned her attention back to his cock again and allowed her lips to move closer. But he stopped her once more instead with a smirk. He had… admirable restraint, given her own eagerness to move things along.

He scurried back and laid himself down onto the bed with his arms folded under the back of his neck and a content smile on his face. His head inclined to the side curtly then, ushering her to join him up on the mattress.

She climbed up onto the bed with him and he ushered her quickly to turn around. She was propped up on all fours, with her crotch directly above Bishop's head while her own eyes had a comparable view. His hands wrapped over her thighs and he pulled her down and closer to him only a moment later. It didn't even take a second before she felt his tongue slide through her slit, teasing her clit.

She gasped loudly, biting her lower lip, as jolts of electricity coursed through her body. She moved her mouth to his cock in a rather hurried motion. If she didn't, she was pretty sure that she'd wake the entire inn with her cries after such long frustration.

She sucked on the tip of his cock while he did the same to her clit. She got a strange urge to mirror his treatment to some measure. When he ran his tongue between her folds, she ran hers over his length. Once, then once more, as many times as he did that to her.

Bishop's tongue moved to slowly enter her, after a while of that treatment, and as she enveloped her lips around his girth, sliding down on it, moving it deeper. He finally caught on to what she was doing. He withdrew his tongue a bit, chuckling against her and she moved back up, leaving only the tip of his cock in her mouth and humming against it in turn. She could practically see the grin on his face. Well… maybe the amusement in his eyes, his mouth was currently busy with other things.

He started to slip his tongue in and out of her, groaning, as she moved up and down his length in turn. Her deep moans vibrated against his cock pleasantly, making his hips twitch in a bit of frustration. He had half-a-mind to start moving against her mouth frantically to seek his release, but this game was too fun to end prematurely. He slipped his finger under her belly and towards her slit and he promptly began rubbing her clit while his tongue continued to move inside her. He was curious about how she was going to reciprocate that, and he wasn't disappointed with the result when her hand moved down to his crotch, gently fondling his balls in turn and eliciting another muffled pleasured groan from him.

His fingers left her suddenly and he gripped her thighs instead to part them even further. He pushed his tongue inside her as far as it went, swirling it around her walls and groaning against her, making her whole body vibrate. She found herself utterly distracted by that treatment, but she knew already that he was all too eager to receive the same treatment.

Despite the distractions, she took a tentative breath and slid his cock deeper into her mouth. Her throat contracted around him a few times before she swallowed as much of him as she could. She tried to swirl her tongue over his cock in her mouth, humming against him all the while, just like he did to her. It was much harder when she had him so deep, but it still elicited a long groan from him, which again made her whole body vibrate.

He started to move his tongue in and out again, still trying to push it deep into her. His hand moved to her clit once more and now she wasn't sure if she would be able to reciprocate. Her body was spasming all too often at the jolts coursing through her as the sensations began overwhelming her completely. But she still tried her best, bobbing her head on his cock, trying to keep it deep inside while her hand played with his balls.

It didn't take either of them very long at this pace. Aeyrin groaned and moaned against his cock as the jolts of pleasure overwhelmed her entirely at last. Her whole body stiffened, arching and spasming, as Bishop finally pushed her to her release. The hums against his cock didn't leave him far behind though. He twitched and swelled wildly in her mouth and, after a second, he reached his peak as well, making her instinctively try to swallow as best as she could.

She slumped down to her side, after a short moment, and tried to catch her breath. Both of them were panting in exhaustion with their bodies heaving and flushed, likely for a long time to come yet.

"Yeah… you definitely… didn't need… a gag… this time…" Bishop laughed in between his ragged breathing as he turned onto his side and gripped at her hip to turn her on hers. His eyes were facing her groin again, and he moved closer, flicking his tongue over her briefly, although somewhat tiredly.

The night was still rather young. They had plenty of time to recover a little and get back to enjoying themselves some more.

After all, they wouldn't get to do anything fun up at the monastery.

They had to make the best of it now.