AN: This chapter contains violence, sexual assault and other dark themes. Read at your own discretion.

He walked behind her and tried not to care, but gods, the way her face looked had him wanting to go back and tear that necromancers throat out with his bare hands. Her face looked so...

He struggled to find a word for it. Like some of the light left her with the shattering of her necklace. Her eyes seemed unfocused even as she walked. Her map held tightly in her hand, occasionally opening it up now and again to make sure their route was on point, she sighed heavily as they made their way up to the Meridia's temple. Now and again, her hand would lift to her neck, and after a moment, would drop back to her side, clenched tightly... Karnwyr let out a soft whine at his side, casting his eyes to his own. Looking down to his wolf, he let out a sigh of his own.

Speeding up a few long strides, he joined her at her side. "You doing okay, ladyship?" Even as he asked, he suspected her answer wouldn't have changed since she spoke from the cavern. Her eyes didn't shift to look at him, simply stayed forward as they walked.

No answer.

He let out a soft sigh, and continued to walk alongside her in silence, casting his eyes to his wolf and gave a small shake of his head... Everything in the cavern seemed to repeat in his mind, especially the last battle between the head necromancer and them. The blasts, the lights... But her necklace... It doesn't make sense.

"What doesn't?" She inquired, her voice low and devoid of its usual energy. He nearly jumped when she had spoken.

"I uh... Did I say that out loud?" He asked, and inwardly scowled when she tightly nodded. "I didn't mean to. It's just…" He trailed off and sighed again. "Doesn't make sense to me as to why your necklace reacted that way. Trying to sort that out is all." He explained and slowly, her head bobbed up and down, thoughtful.

"Do you know how summoning's work, ranger?" She asked, still keeping her eyes forward. His usual sarcastic impulse was pushed down at her question.

He lifted his shoulders and dropped them instead. "Not much of a mage or magic user so I can't say I do."

"Well, from what I understand from my studies, is that summoning's take a long time, and need significant sources of magic. Or powerful alternatives." She swallowed hard.

"Powerful alternatives?" He echoed and she simply nodded.

"Summoning's can take many things for it to successfully work. There's magic in general, artifacts, books, plants, animals, blood... spirits…" Her voice dropped low as she raised a hand to list the things she spoke of lifting a finger for each, then her had drifted to her neck again and instead, wrapped around her throat, lingered, then dropped. "All can be used for sacrifices." She took a steadying breath. "From what she had said, her mages were going to be used for either a blood binding summoning or sacrifice." She winced at the thought.

"But she said, it wouldn't be a strong enough binding." He recalled and watched as she raised a hand to her face and rubbed her fingers over her eyes.

"Yes. So, she needed something of the same strength since the mages we took care of, deemed useless." Her hand dropped to her sword to palm her blade. "She looked for something strong enough to finish the binding and that seemed to be… a spirit as she said.. Of equal strength or magical power."

"Yours?" He asked, feeling a chill run through him when she cast her eyes downward.

"At first I thought so...' She frowned in thought. "But I didn't feel anything. No internal pull... And that wouldn't explain why my necklace heated up the way it did. Added to the fact that my magic capabilities are minimal at best."

"Then she... went for your necklace?" He pondered aloud, his mind whirling trying to sort the thoughts out. "What the fuck for?"

"I always wondered what the charm was." Her voice was low again. Almost sounding broken. "I originally thought it was some molten rock. Or like an elvish glass." She swallowed and he felt something in his chest tighten as he himself connected the pieces before she herself said them.

"You think it was a soul stone." He didn't ask it. He didn't have to. Her hands clapped together, fingers lacing and raised them to her mouth, her thumbs beneath her chin, knuckles resting against her lips. Almost like she was praying.

"It shouldn't be possible." She spoke softly against her knuckles. Her hands dropped but lingered in the air in front of her. "Most times, soul stones are for enchanting weapons or armours. I haven't ever heard of ones that spoke to any holder of one." Her hands twirled in front of her, with her voiced thoughts, like her hands were trying to keep up with her now raveling mind. If his own was struggling, she must have been no better. Or worse.

"Weapons given by gods or daedra do that." He offered and got a slow head shake from her.

"Nothing malevolent or divine from my necklace. Ever." She lifted her fists to her eyes, pressing the knuckles to the sockets. "My mother would enchant things on occasion and was known to carry things such as them. My father even said that it was on her person when she... But the gems she had were bright and clear. I may not be great at those types of things, but she was. So then how did she- that's if she-" her voice cracked and her feet ceased to move. He stopped a foot after her and looked back at her. Her head was down, her hands clenched at her sides.

Then something clicked.

"You think it was your mother?" He asked and watched as she took a deep breath and let it out.

"I don't know... what I think." She shook her head and pressed on. "All I know is that some-" her fingers spread, tight and lingered in a claw like shape, "necromancing bitch ruined both my necklace and my morning!" She snapped and trudged forward uphill making his brows rise.

"Anything I can do to help?" He offered and got a heated stare from her over her shoulder.

"Yeah. If we run into any trouble…" her eyes moved forward, "stay out of my way." And that, he thought to himself, he could do. It was an improvement, this anger. He could work with anger. Her being.. sad, ate away at him in a way that made him slightly uncomfortable.

Reaching the foot of the mountain where the temple was to reside, Serlina brought the weirdly shaped crystal sphere out of her hip pouch. Walking up to the bottom of the stairs, she paused and turned her head towards the pass just to their right. Her brows furrowing, then rising. Her upper body twisted, turning the arms with the crystal towards him, not taking her eyes off the pass.

"Wait here and hold this for a second. I want to check something out." She handed the crystal to him and walked off.

His mouth gapped for a moment. "What are you-"

"I hear it. The chanting again. Like the Words of Power." She explained over her shoulder and walked on. He debated on following her but instead, adjusted his position to keep her in his view and jerked his head towards her and inwardly was pleased when Karnwyr started after her. She was in fact walking towards one of those word walls with the nordic owl carved into the mountainside. Tossing the crystal between his hands, he waited and watched as she glanced around and then leaned in a little to one of the words. He couldn't see anything from this distance, but she backed away after a few moments, shaking her head gently. She seemed to be steadier the more she did these. That was a relief. The first one, he recalled, seemed to nearly cause her to pass out.

"Look at my temple, lying in ruins." The voice rang from the crystal making him jolt and nearly drop the thing.

"You alright, ranger?" Serlina called over as she joined his side. "Thought you had a spasm or something." Her words were teasing, but the humor was not in her face at all.

"Just a weird voice coming from the crystal." He held it out with both hands and let her take it from him.

"So much for the constancy of mortals, their crafts and their hearts." Meridia's voice spoke out again as they made their way towards the stairs.

"Well that's a bit harsh." Serlina looked from the crystal, then to him.

"See?" He pointed to the crystal with roll of his eyes. "Worthless gods."

"You've got a talent for walking along the razors edge of bold and stupid, did you know that?" She asked as they began to climb making him glare in her direction.

"Is that right?" He asked rhetorically.

"Yeah. We're walking into this temple, her temple and your calling her worthless." She widened her eyes as if mockingly alarmed as they reached the landing where the tall carved stone statue stood.

"Oh, come on, ladyship. What's the worst they can do?" He asked as he looked around, almost like he was challenging the powers around him to do something about his blasphemy.

"Restore to me my beacon, that I might guide you toward your destiny." Meridia called out again.

He gestured a hand to the crystal with a bored look. "See? Nothing." Serlina looked like she was going to say something but instead busied herself with placing the beacon on the pedestal at the foot of the statue. Karnwyr joined him at his feet and plopped down onto his hind legs, looking up at him. He absently began rubbing at the wolf ears when the sound of crystal gently dragging against stone caught his ear.

"H-hey, ranger?" She called from behind him. He hummed gently and heard a soft gasp. "B-Bishop?!" Serlina called to him, her voice startled making him reach for his bow as he spun to look at her and nearly dropped the arrow he was pulling from his quiver. A large beam of pale-yellow light shot upward from the crystal towards the cloudy sky. In what felt like slow motion, her eyes turned from the beam to him, wide and alarmed before her body lifted from the ground.

"Wha- Ladyship?!" He reached for her and her own hand lifted to his and with a few feet separating them, she was propelled into the sky with a scream that had his muscles lock onto his bones, his heart in his throat. "LADYSHIP!"

"BISHOP!" Gods, the fear in the way she screamed his name had panic flair in him.

"SERLINA!" High, so high she was lifted, her body flipping in all kinds of ways that had him swallowing his words as Karnwyr barked at her ascending form. His fingers tensed when she seemed to almost disappear from his sight. Arrow in hand, his body shook in reined in emotions. He couldn't see anything around her, nothing that could have lifted her so high. He wanted to shoot at whatever it is that had her up there but saw no physical target. And even if there was and even if he could hit something… from that height... he swallowed hard, the fall alone would... He paced, keeping his eyes on the sky where she had been casted, then his frustration turned to the statue in front of him. The crystal was missing as well. He hadn't even noticed its disappearance. He marched towards it and peered up at the dark stone face of Meridia.

"You bring my woman back down safely or so help me, I will burn your fucking temple to the ground!" He growled, his body trembled in rage and fear. Karnwyr whined, his eyes looking all around for her too no doubt.

A long few minutes ticked by…

The pillar of light descended, the crystal returning to the pedestal in front of him. He nearly went for his dagger to sink into it when his eyes went skyward again at the sound of an oncoming scream. She was descending, fast enough that had him panic when he tried to think of a safe way to catch her, but without injuring them both. Stowing his bow and arrow back into his quiver, he started to open his arms to catch her, his eyes trained on her decent. Nearing a few dozen feet from him, her pace slowed until it was a slow crawl, her scream dying on the crisp winds as her hair whipped around her face. His arms dropped when she was set back on her feet in front of the statue. She was pale, her eyes wide, her breath coming in short bursts from her dry lips. A second passed. Another before she looked to him and tried to take a step towards him only to have him reflexively catch her when her legs gave out.

"Ladyship!" He pulled her to him and held her tight to his thundering chest, relived that she looked unharmed. Startled, shocked, but unharmed. Running a hand over her face, he turned her chin so her eyes met his. Her skin felt like ice. The most shockingly bright green staring back at him, tracks of tears marking her dusted face making him send a glare to the damn crystal that hovered gently in its pedestal a few feet from them. "You okay?" He asked gently looking back at her and only just noticed that it wasn't just him trembling. She was shaking like a leaf caught in a rough wind. He held on tighter, hoping that with enough pressure, the shaking would stop.

She swallowed and ran her tongue over her lips to wet them. "I'm uh, I- I don't-." Her voice sounded just as shaken as she felt, her words stammering and falling over as she lifted a hand, her finger pointed up and just shook her head, her eyes squeezing tightly shut.

"Heights don't sit well with you?" He asked, running a hand up and down her arms, growing more comfortable with her in his, his anger subsiding for his growing need to soothe taking over.

"N-n-not... heights per say." She explained, sounding a little steadier. "It's just..." Her eyes opened and landed on his as she lifted a hand and then dropped it quickly. "It's the f-fear of falling." She shuddered again. "I was held and then, like a false sense of ground gave way and I just-" her hands tightened on his coat, her knuckled going white from their grip, her body trembling anew.

"You're alright. You're on solid ground. I've got you." He murmured and pulled her into his chest, laying his cheek on the top of her head. "Shhh... Just breathe." He murmured and didn't know if it was to her or himself.

"I don't want to do that again anytime soon." She joked after a moment.

"I don't blame you." He replied glaring at the statue again.

He glanced down swallowing hard when he lifted a hand to move a lock of hair out of her face that had come loose from her freefall.

Gods, the way her eyes were watching his hand as it fell from her face and then glanced up at him, wide and pleading. Brown was starting to spread again, the green receding. Only just noticing how tightly he held her, he relaxed his grip. He could smell her soap, that elusive scent that made him want to press in farther and inhale, grounding himself in the fact she was near, and not hurtling towards the sky.

"Can you do something for me?" She asked, her head pulling away from his chest.

Fuck.

He didn't trust his own voice so the best he could manage was a small "Hmm?"

"No more talking shit about gods, goddesses or daedric equivalents until we have finished clearing out this temple and have left it far behind." Her tone made it clear, that there would be no arguing with that request. "Think you can do that?" She asked and waited. He didn't reply, but instead he tightly nodded. He'd keep his thoughts about worship of anything of the sort to himself.

"I'll do my best." He helped her right herself until her feet were steady underneath her.

"Well, see that you do and I'll thank you now for your future efforts." She cleared her throat and absently tucked a strand of hair behind her ear, then huffed as she pulled it look then quickly re-tied it. Heading down the stairs, carefully on her unsteady legs, she made her way to a set of doors that here under the platform that the stature stood on, speaking gently to Karnwyr who followed close on her heels. Her voice was soothing the wolf like he had to her, mirroring his words.

"Its alright. I'm- I'm right here." Gods. He glanced back to the statue and his jaw clenched. Several spiting words nearly tumbled from his lips, but he kept his word and pressed onward and followed behind her. The way Karnwyr was hovering around her ankles had him inwardly smile as Serlina opened the doors and walked into the temple.

Serlina sucked in a sharp breath, Karnwyr's hackles rose on and he himself felt a dark foreboding that no doubt had something to do with the fucking black fog that lingered over the ground. Coughing subtly, he felt a twinge or internal irritation as they ventured down a flight of stairs.

"Last place had bones for decoration. This black fog or whatever the hell this is isn't that much better." Serlina muttered as they stepped in, the large doors closing behind them. They barely walked a few feet when his steps slowed. Kneeling down, his hand moved out to something on the ground, then slowly, his hand clenched. "Bodies." His head lifted to her right. "Several. They look burnt. Tarnished." She swallowed as he stood up.

"Desecrated." She added finally. Her tone sharp as she drew one of her swords and headed down the flight of stairs, murmuring words in what he was coming to find was Kothringi. Most likely a prayer for the dead.

"Bodies, black smoke, old temples that are thousands of years old. You sure this doesn't heat you up under the collar?" He teased hoping to alleviate the tension she radiated with each step the farther in they descended. Each breath stung slightly as they walked through, making him frown as her head turned from side to side slowly searching.

"Can't say it does." She shot over her shoulder, her eyes crinkling in the corners as she glared into the dark.

He tsked, as he watched Karnwyr dart ahead to scout. "Well that does it. Your standards for mood settings are impossible to meet." He jested again and earned a small huff that sounded like a tight laugh.

"You say that like you expect me to change them. Or lower them." She casted a sad glance over several more bodies.

"Well at this rate and how many places we've delved into; it might be something for you to maybe change the way you look at things." He spoke offhandedly as they entered a larger empty room. As he scoured the shelves, she wandered over to a door that, after pulling on, appeared to be locked. Kneeling down, Serlina took out her newly fashioned hairpin and set to work on the lock. Pocketing 1 small stamina potion and a health potion he found on a tossed hutch; he made his way over to join her at her side. He noticed Karnwyr sniffing around one of the crisp bodies with a look that his him tsking, drawing the wolfs gaze. Jerking his head away, Karnwyr and himself joined Serlina at the door, flicking her hand gently as she worked. "Any luck?" He asked as he pulled an arrow out of his quiver.

"Almost got it." She muttered and blew out a strand of her hair out of her line of sight. He took another short breath and glowered at the ache it seemed to emanate in his chest.

"You ever seen smoke er, fog like this before?" He absently asked as he glanced around.

She paused in her ministrations and looked around the room. "Sort of. Never this thick though. Or dark."

"Where?"

"On a job with an apothecary who liked to experiment," she shrugged. "So, needless to say, I've seen someone who works in conditions like these before."

"In a temple filled with burnt desecrated bodies? What, they think to highly of themselves or something?" He inquired as she tried to turn the lock.

"Pft. No. More like blowhards who botched jobs." The sound of a lock coming undone had her smiling whereas he smirked at her sharp tongue. Serlina peered up at him out from under her lashes as she opened up the chest and dug deep. "So just so were clear on what we were just talking about; you want me to lower my standards on what... inflames me when it comes to inciteful settings?"

"Anyone ever tell you you've got a way with words?" He returned, passing her question with one of his own.

"You're the only man I know that seems to be both intrigued and irritated at the same time when I use them." She tossed him a small satchel of coins that he deftly caught and pocketed.

"It's that sharp tongue or yours." He adds and catches her eyes rolling to the ceiling.

"I recall you like my tongue." She murmured with a tsk as she slid the pick back into her hair. "But I can see where you are bothered by it. My aunt called me persnickety in my ways.."

"Per- what?" He half echoed looking at her with a furrowed brow. She returned his confused one with an amused one of her own.

"Fussy." She supplied making him roll his eyes.

"Why didn't you just say-"

"I did!" She half laughed. "I'm sorry, I just like using interesting words." She shrugged.

"Well, now I know. Though actions are so much better." He scoffed when she smirked and walked around him carrying on.

"You have demonstrated such advantages in the past with some... stimulating results." She slid a glance his way, her cheeks slightly tinged pink as they neared a set of doors and upon opening them went from cautious to alert.

"And no musty temple or cavern required." He hummed back when his blood heated slightly.

"Strange, I know." She mocked as they opened a large set of double doors and stopped when they took a few strides in. A pair of smoke covered skeletons in strange armour lingered in the air, the waist like a thick vapor and not even touching the ground.

"What the fuck are you?" He asked out loud as he pulled an arrow from his quiver, notched and aimed.

"I don't know." She murmured in answer as she looked to Karnwyr who was growling. "Go get em!" She shouted and the wolf lunged, wrapping his strong jaws around one skeleton as his arrow sank deep into the mist covered one behind it. It landed, but the damage was less than what he'd hoped. Switching to his knife, he got up close and personal. The knife sliced deeply, but seemed to cause more of the thick dark vapor to pour out from each of the wounds. Serlina and Karnwyr had the other taken care of by the time his fell to his blade. Only no bones. It fell into a pile of... something. Bending down, the tips of his fingers touched the top and pinched together. It was pale, unlike its previous form. And slightly liquidy.

"Ashes... Mixed with...?" He drawled unsure. Showing her his finger when she stepped beside him, she held his hand, examining the remains on his fingers.

"Ectoplasms." She murmured as he rose to his feet. Looking around, he caught sight of Karnwyr a slender bone, no doubt from an arm of one of the skeletons.

"Karnwyr!" She called from behind him, getting the wolfs attention. "Spit that out. You don't know where its been." She scolded, walking to the wolf who reluctantly dropped the bone.

"Well with what I just saw, I'd like to get out of this place sooner the better." He bit out earning him a pair of widening eyes.

"Being in a temple really scraping against your nerves already?" She teased. He rolled his eyes but the corner of his mouth hitched upward.

"You wanna talk about scraped nerves? How do you this Meridia feels about having dead people in her basement?"

"I could only imagine that she is less than pleased." She said as she stepped up a small podium and looked into the center before touching something.

"Yeah. Well, its not a dead person, it's a skeleton." He said offhandedly as he scanned and followed a beam of light that shined out from a crystal that rose up from the center of the podium and pointed towards another door.

"Wait, what?" She asked, no doubt just catching on to his comment.

"Like its old and-" He started to offhandedly explain which just made her frown, though slightly amused.

"It's still a body. It's remains of one. That's exactly what it is." She returned as they continued.

"No, ladyship. A dead person should still have flesh on em. Like the ones from the doors of this place. Those were burnt bodies. But these," he gestured to the remains on the ground "are bare bones. Like, I can't tell if it's a dead human, orc er, something."

"Well, it wasn't a daedra. It didn't have horns and when you're a skeleton the ears are rotted, or in this case burned, so I'm not surprised that you don't know." She walked on, himself closely behind, ignoring the irritating sting when he took a few deeper breaths. They did this for a couple more rooms before he started again, amused with their conversation.

"Do you think she feels the dead people in her basement?" He asked after more of the shades were taken care of.

"Temple." She corrected raising her hand, a single finger uplifted. "And yes. Or else she wouldn't be calling it filth and send us in to go clear it out." More shades crossed their paths, making them pause in their walkthrough. It seemed the deeper they went, the stronger the shades became. Pulling an arrow from an eye socket of a draugr that had mixed in with them, he glared and walked on, his breath coming in heavier. The stinging spreading to behind his eyes and making his arms feel like rocks now and again.

"Well, I think there comes a point where it's a skeleton and not an actual dead person." She sent him a confused glance over her shoulder at him. "I mean I know it's a dead person-"

She frowned in thought and walked on, her dual blades at her side. "I don't think that's correct, actually."

"No! It's like there's a point-"

"Everyone has a skeleton in their body, ranger. Just because time wears away the covering doesn't make it any less of a dead person." She explained as she rummaged through a few jars. Leading into a bigger wider room he caught sight of oil on the floor and burning lanterns overhead. Hearing a grunt from a skeleton he drew an arrow and aimed for the clay held aloft.

"I think there's a point when like- its like a piece of fruit but its been out so long." He tried a comparison to help him out.

"Where comparing dead people to fruit now?" She asked, a small smile pulling at her lips, despite her brows furrowing. He found himself smiling too as he let the arrow loose, knocking the light to the ground engulfing it in flames, the boney bastard included. Once the flames were gone, he wandered around, looking for things.

"Yes. Because even considering a rotten fruit as a piece of fruit is just not useful." He spoke as he rifled through a few shelves and pocketed a few things himself. Looking back up at her, he watched as amusement danced over her face.

"So, okay what do you call an apple core? A dead apple?" She asked and headed to another podium.

He frowned, shrugged. "I eat apples whole, so no." The look of shock and horror on her face as she looked at him had him suppressing a laugh as he walked to the door that held a crystal above it. "Why are you looking at me like that?"

"Why would you do that?" She asked, her voice sounding slightly disgusted. "Who eat apples whole?!"

"You don't?" He asked as she reached an edge of a pillar and jumped to the one across then looked back to him.

She shook her head, her ponytail swishing from side over her shoulders. "No, I don't." He stepped back, leaning against the wall as Karnwyr joined his side.

"Well, I do." He said as he scratched Karnwyr. "So does Karnwyr."

"He's a dog." She tossed back.

"Wolf." He corrected.

"Bleh. Well, then you're mad." She huffed as she leapt herself.

"For eating fruit?" He asked when she straightened from her landing and headed towards a beacons podium. After making it rise, the light opened the doors behind him.

"The way you do?" She looked to him and glared, like she was skeptic. "Yes."

He waited for her to come back down, watching as she descended. Now and again, his chest with sting again. Before he could ponder it longer, she joined his side, her own face thoughtful. "And if we are using that frame of mind," her mouth shifted into a frown before her eyes squeezed shut, like she was wincing. "and I can't believe I'm about to ask this morbidly wrong question."

Oh, he internally smirked as they continued on. He had to know. "Which is?"

"If you can still eat a body, is it still a person?" His eyes widen slightly. This was better than he could have imagined. "Cause if you can't eat the body anymore, you think its not."

"Your bringing cannibalism into this now?" He asked as she triggered another crystal to rise from its sunken podium. The flustered look on her face had him fully laughing as she fumbled through her explanation.

"You're the one talking about people's bodies and eating shit whole!" She shuddered, "Like a monster."

"Ladyship, you can eat anything if your determined enough." He pointed out, another short chuckle rising from him.

"That's..." She paused for a second, tilted her head side to sigh, weighing a thought then tightly nodded. "Okay, that's a fair point, but let's just agree that skeletons are dead people too."

"But you don't feel as much remorse for them as you do for say, a draugr." He added as they walked up a ramp, pointing back to one with his thumb.

"They're different." She muttered behind him.

"How? Their all dead. Ones just more… bare. You didn't pause or say any words of apologies to them or whatever it is you do." He pointed out and watched her mouth gape slightly.

"I don't- it doesn't..." She huffed a slow breath. "I'm not going to continue this conversation."

"What, don't like when I make you question things about yourself?" He asked and felt a cold trickle run over his spine. Glaring around he tried another breath, but felt like it was scraping down his windpipe.

What the actual fuck is going on with this shit?

"You look bothered. You alright, ranger?"

"You find it hard to breathe in here?" He absently asked, twiddling an arrow between his fingers. She blinked, blinked again and then took a slow steady inhale. Her eyes squinted a bit, but she seemed to let it out easy enough.

"A little. The air is dense in here." She admitted and walked into another room. His eyes scanned the corridors around him landing on nothing but stone, burnt bodies and black fog. Taking another deeper breath to steady himself, he winced at the sting that followed rather than the usual grounding he got. It held a strange scent, this fog. And the deeper they went, the more apparent it became. Most air in places like this smelt like stagnant water.

But this... No...

This scent reminded him of something. It was bothering the hell out of him. What was it? His brow furrowed in thought and like a cold bolt of lightning to his system, he recognized it. Incense and a smoking pipe mixture he hadn't smelt in years...

Canis root and glowing mushroom...

The air, though magickly charged held the scent of the same pipe filling his father had smoked. To the untrained or unknowing, his eyes moved to Serlina as she treaded carefully to the next crystal bowl to open the next section of the temple, they wouldn't notice it amongst the smell of this murky fog or smell of burnt flesh.

He could almost hear his voice.

'Always liked this stuff. Makes me more... comfortable' He'd say as several sets of incense sticks would be left to burn. He let out a heavy breath and the arrow spun in his fingers faster.

"You alright?" Serlina asked, joining him at his side, laying a hand on his arm, casting the memory away.

"I'm fine." He sounded harsher than he intended, and the look on her face was started, the retraction of her hand from his arm had his body tense up again. "I'm fine," his voice was softer now, making her features relaxed, but still, her eyes still had a worried look to them. "Don't worry about it. Let's just get this over with." Walking past her, he continued on, following the solid beams of light through the temple.

"I must say, its an interesting use of the light. It reminds me of the mirrors my aunt used to use for her plants back in Morrowind." Serlina commented as she walked under the path of light as several shades drifted around the corner, coming into their line of sight.

"Sonofa- They just keep coming!" He called as they defended and attacked. Several swarmed around her, attacking from all sides. Several made contact, her armour protecting her from the most of it, but he could faintly see the drips of blood from their weapons as they swung splatter to the ground. "Ladyship!" Emotions coils and rolled through him as he saw her crouch and roll under a wide swing from a shade. He faintly heard the sound of an arrow being loosened and felt a sharp twinge in his arm.

"Fuck!" He gritted before pulling the arrow from his body. It hadn't landed deep, that was a saving grace. Using the arrow that had just hit him, he notched it, aimed and fired, killing one of the shades and turning it into a pile of weird dust. Striding to her, his knife drawn he began fighting in close quarters. It wasn't until a boney black fog covered arm caught his jaw that he heard a voice in his mind, unexpected but one that made him growling in withheld rage.

'That's my boy.'

Fighting more then a physical battle, he dragged his thoughts from their slowly spiraling into a stress induced madness back into the fight at hand, thankful for the reprieve when they flitted away. Corrupted shades attacked in hordes, trying to prevent them from bringing light to the temple. Disposing of them was beginning to become taxing… His breath was laboured, his body tense as he retrieved arrows as glimpses of memories long forgotten rose to the surface. They felt like they were being forcibly pulled from the depths of his mind. His head began to ache, almost like his hangover from earlier, but a different type of harsh on the senses. Backtracking over a bridge where a door now was unlocked, he was met with the cool air from the outside world and was thankful. Taking a long deep cleansing breath, he let it center him. It took him a moment longer than usual. Shit.

That moment of… fear. Panic. Worry. It tasted rancid in his mouth. And yet, he couldn't shake a certain feeling that was growing in his chest. Something that made him want to punch his sternum to smother it back down.

This entire afternoon seemed to be slipping out of his comfort. Like when Serlina flew into the air. A different form of panic had settled into him that had him cautious in her regards. Looking over Skyrim, he heard her walk past him to the connecting bridge to the other side of the temple.

He inwardly groaned and grinded his teeth. Fuck. Something had changed. About her... About them and not from what she had told him this very morning. No... She had high speechcraft, that much was perfectly obvious, but nothing had been persuaded from him... No... For some stupid fucking reason, he wanted her in a different way than any other prey that he had set his sights on in the past. Though, his eyes moved to her hips and watched them sway as she crossed. Mmm.. Did he still want her in his bed? Abso-fucking-lutely. He wasn't dead, like the bodies in there... But out of it...?

Fuck.

The way he had felt simply holding her when her necklace was taken from her. Then again when she had fallen from the sky... She now made him want to pull her close again, keep her… safe. And he hadn't even slept with her.

His hands clenched. He scowled and followed after her. He was becoming like his older brother when he met Kuala. He clenched his hands. He was getting soft. Losing his edge.

This wasn't supposed to happen. Get your head out of the fucking flowers, Bishop!

"I don't know what to think of someone who would take over a daedric temple in their spare time." Serlina muttered absently as she took a few breaths of air, her eyes following the beams of light overhead as they jumped from crystal to crystal.

"I can think of plenty of things I'd rather be doing than helping clear out a temple of some god that I don't even care about." He felt his jaw clench at the venom his words still held, then glanced at her scolding expression. "Don't look at me like that. I'd said I'd try. And I did."

"We aren't even done yet!" She scolded earning him to roll his eyes skyward. "Unless you don't want to finish up here? Rather be drinking alone, warming up by the fire?" Her eyes looking away.

"It'd be better than being here with you I think." He snapped at her mocking tone and almost mist her sharp inhale.

"So, you don't want adventure with me… anymore?" Her tone was neutral, making him regard her timidly.

"Unless you convince me I think otherwise." He muttered walking over the bridge.

"I think you would miss the excitement you get when you're with me." She sent a teasing smirk over her shoulder. He simply returned it with a scowl as his mind to flashed him back a few years when a wife of one of the lords he had been a ranger for tried to seduce him.

He could still see the Brenton, her nose pointed up, her fine clothes clean and pressed in the candle light as she offered him a place in her bed.

'Miss out on the excitement of sleeping with a woman she herself deemed his better.'

"You overestimate your charms, woman." He returned, his words from his past ringing out on the winter winds and her brows were furrowed slightly as she walked to him.

"I didn't- wait- did you just call me woman?" She couldn't seem to gather a full sentence. He tsked and tapped under her chin with a finger in a 'buck-up' gesture when she drew near.

"Don't fret, despite what you seem to think, I wouldn't wilt away without you. There are others out there that are more game than you'll ever be." He echoed the words he said so long ago, his mind in a fog as he walked towards the doors where the new beam was heading, leaving her mouth slightly open. The expression she wore was a mix of many things, but he didn't wait to try to decipher it.

"Bishop!" Serlina's voice rang clear in his mind, snapping him out of the dark place he had wandered to, if only a little. "I don't what crawled up your ass, nor don't I know who you think your talking to, but you will not speak to me in that regard." Her tone was sharp but he heard the emotion behind it as she stomped to his side snagging his forearm, her fingers digging in enough to have him regard her coolly.. "I am not just some woman" she all but spit the word "and you best remember that. If your going to be talking to me that way, you best make sure you have a solid reason as to why you are. And if you can't think of one and tell me, then you should check with yourself as to why you are doing so since I have don't nothing to warrant such behaviour as far as I can tell."

He would have shrugged her off. Taking a deep breath, he was grateful for the more pleasant sting of cold air. The irritation that had been building made him frown.

What was wrong with him?!

He lifted his hands, saw them tremble slightly, and run them through his hair, the anger close to the surface but agonizingly slow seemed to ebb away as Karnwyr leaned on the side, looking up at him with a concerned glint to his eyes.

"The air in there is making me-"

"Claustrophobic? On edge? How about act like an ass?" She supplied as she walked to a chest that rested beside the stairs that lead to the second section of the temple. He grunted, feeling another twinge of the deep seeded anger in his gut at her words. It burned… but with each cleansing cool breath, it lessened. Minimally.

"Just... Something about this fucking smoke that I..." He huffed and clenched his fists at his side. His throat tightened. Choking the words from being spoken.

She didn't need to know.

'She's just a woman, after all. What would she do?'

His hand reflexively moved to his dagger and gripped the hilt tightly as his eyes frantically searched around as the words rang in his mind. 'Shut up you bastard. You're dead. I made sure of that.' He mentally pushed out, the anger filling him right to his bones.

"That you?" She drawled as she combed her fingers in her hair, snagging the pin in it.

"Doesn't matter." He said stiffly. "I don't want to focus on this."

"Alright. Well... Do you… want to stay out here while I finish up the temple?" She asked, her voice tight as she set to work on the chest then her hands stilled. "Or would you rather.. leave?"

"I'm not letting you go in there and dealing with all this by yourself." He also wanted to put his knife into the fucker's throat that was hashing up all this bullshit.

"But I don't want you to... feel this way. Act this way." She said gently, her mouth gaping slightly as if she wanted to add something, but decided against it and slowly, her mouth shut.

"Not anymore than I do." He ground out and found his eyes landing on her own. A hint of caution, but concern rang clear there and it made the burn in his body ease a little more... "I apologize, ladyship. I didn't mean to…" He sighed and looked away from her upraised eyes. "You don't feel anything in that shit? Nothing at all?" He asked pointing at the temple behind them and mentally pleaded to her to confirm that she was or he was worried he would be going mad, just like-

She looked away at the open sky, looking thoughtful. "I do…" She admitted softly.

He let out a small sigh of relief. "Thank the- "

"...Sort of." She finished softly stopping his words.

He watched her warily. "Sort of what do you mean sort of?"

"Well... From the look and sounds of things, it's making you jump from calm to aggression so fast..." she shrugs apologetically when he moves his gaze away and glares off into the distance... "Mine... How this fog seems to affect me is that it makes me think..." She paused, her hands coming together as she rubs her thumb into the palm of her left hand, her face thoughtful. "Badly of myself." Her voice was strained slightly... "Doubts. Ones I haven't had in..." She walked up the stairs slowly after pocketing a few coins from the chest. "I have been doing my best to think on the task at hand, and not that nagging feeling in the back of my skull that makes me want to reach in and drag it out to beat the living shit out because-" she pushed a strand of hair out of her face. "Its better than feeling like the alternative."

"That's all you do? Think about anything and everything else?" He asked, the feeling creeping back up, drawing her steps to slow.

"We all have our ways of getting through all kinds of things. Some work for others and not oneself." She looked to him and met his eyes. "You protect the things and people you trust in." She said softly, looking at Karnwyr then to him. "Like a good mead and a warm fire, as I recall. I think that would be a good thing to focus on when you feel agitated."

"Is that so?" He walked the blade of being genuinely curious or being rhetorical.

"It's only a suggestion. Take it or not, is up to you." She shrugged a single shoulder as she continued up the steps, breathing deeply as she climbed. "Though the thoughts that drift through your mind and mine are different, regardless of the specifics of it, I can see and feel that it bothers you a great deal."

"It might. But I don't want you to be thinking about my… bullshit." He ended tensely.

Her hand pushed the doors open and continued inside. It was a slippery slope, but they managed to get traverse the last quarter of the temple until they reached to a wide set of stairs, the fog thick and heavy with each breath, the scent of incense, canis root and mushrooms knocked around his nose again, making his jaw clench tightly. Reaching the bottom of the stairs, they caught sight of shades inside a larger vast room. Glancing to one another, they each took a side of the stone archway. Leaning around the thick stone, his eyes darted around, counting each one, lingering on the stupid looking human in robes.

"I count 13, not including the one who is human." He muttered, his eyes scanning around.

She nodded, her head peeking out to look inside. "Same here." She whispered. "Can you get a shot at, what I'm guessing is Malkoran, from here?" She asked, jerking her thumb into the room behind them. Drawing an arrow, he leaned over the doorway partially, taking aim. Cursing under his breath when the shades kept covering the sonofa bitch.

"Can't get a clear shot." He muttered and walked in, heading to a large stone pillar, ignoring her insistent whisperings to wait and her huff of irritation as she followed him in.

His eyes never left Malkoran as he readied his bow, and noticed the bowed head lift, and turn over one shoulder slightly, his face hidden by his hood.

"It appears we have… visitors." The robbed Malkoran turns around as he jerks his head back to fully hide himself behind the pillar. "I see that it called to you too to this temple of mine." A dark chuckle rang out, drawing his eyes over the pillar, Malkoran's hands uplifted, as if showcasing the room around them. "Called you to this place. Are you here for your trials to reach enlightenment?" He chuckled lowly. "Friends. Search them out. We should welcome them. Make them... more comfortable."

"Enlightenment?" He echoed, looking to Serlina, who mouthed the word 'trials' with a tight shrug of her shoulders before she started shouting back.

"This temple isn't yours!" Serlina called from her pillar, swinging her sword at a shades neck who had loomed over to her around the pillar, sending it to her feet in a collection of ashes and ectoplasm. Faintly they could hear the sounds of Malkoran tutting disapprovingly.

"Well, how uncivilized. Did you treat all those who have worked so hard to reach such a height of power-"

"This power you have, or think you have, is a falsity." Serlina called, between coughs. He could see the fog go in and out of her with each breath.

Malkoran chortled, drawing his gaze from around the pillar again as his fingers bending around the spells they now held in each. "Falsity? I think not. It's such a beautiful thing... Isn't it? This power... To have such power, frightening, but beautiful!" The fog thickened, causing both of them to cough. Their vision obscuring slightly. His eyes scanned over Serlina who covered her face with her arm. "Ah. I see the way my creation surrounds you."

"Your… creation? You mean this fucking fog?" He called over his shoulder as he peered around his pillar. The black smoke seemed to emanate from under his robes, passing through his long sleeves, near his feet.

"Miasma." Malkoran corrected with a pleased hum. "I found a way to bring about the greatest of internal power through trials, is through this miasma that I have concocted that shall separate the strongest of us all. Thus, bringing those who are worthy, to enlightenment."

"In a temple you are defiling!" Serlina shouted as she blocked a sword swung at her throat with her own while he kicked a shade in the chest, backing him away to fire an arrow that ended up lodged in the shades dark ethereal looking chest armour.

"Bah. The temple was simply a beacon to more foolish devotees. It brought many to me… though, as you can see throughout the temple, many failed. They succumbed to their meager trials…" He tsked again. "Shame, really." His eyes moved over the bodies that lay burnt and crumpled along the stone floor, many in positions of pain, curled in a fetal position, some crawling towards the doors, some over one another.

"Trials?" He frowned at the thought and his eyes met Serlina's. Her blades lifted as her grip intensified, casing them to shake slightly as several more surrounded them both. "What trials?" He called over his shoulder and caught Serlina's nod in agreement, like she herself would have asked that question herself as they focused on defending themselves.

"To see if they shall reach enlightenment, like I have." Knocking a shade away with his bow, he drew another arrow and physically lodged it into a shades throat, pulled it back, growling when it didn't go down, notched another, fired, embedding it in their rib. Karnwyr was currently racing around, teeth bared and digging into them as they moved in towards them. He noticed as Malkoran slowly walked, keeping his face to the pillars. Like he himself was looking for a better vantage point. "I have found that through true inquietude, and even past memories, can help one overcome and accept my enlightenment." Past… Memories?

"You don't scare me!" Serlina managed through a few coughs. Barely, he could hear him draw out a long sigh.

"My dear. You misunderstand." He chuckled. "I never specified that you needed to fear me, specifically. But more, what do you fear the most?" He asked, taking a step, more shades drawing near alongside him. "Some would say being broken and old like a beggar with nothing to show for their lives. It could be death, the undead, magic users, the unknown. Trifle and meager fears. But you two?" He inhaled deeply through his nose. "Your fears, I can sense, are…. unique. Potent." He clicked his tongue, like he enjoyed the taste. "I can feel it. Your own fears, ones that will unhinge you... They will make you see. They will make you start the path. It already has begun," he smirked and lays his eyes on Bishop as he ducked under a swing of a sword, the blade landing in the stone pillar behind him, the sound jarring in the room. "you will see." His words hung in the air between them but the weight... He drew another arrow, hearing the string strain by his ear. "Try as you might, fight it with all your being." Malkoran said, his spells drawing tight in his hands as he for some reason, gave Bishop a knowing smirk that had a chill run up his spine. "That's all you will ever become. Just like them."

"Shut your fucking mouth!" The words left him at the same time his arrow flew forward and landed in the chest of a shade that shifted to defend him. Malkoran regarded him coldly, his hands lifting slightly as two different spells prepared in his palms as his eyes sharpen on Bishop as he drew another arrow. Then he turned his gaze to Serlina.

"Tell me dear, what do you believe reveals more about a man's character, his arrogance or his attempt to disguise it?" He couldn't help but glance at Serlina who, for a moment, had a look of confusion as she rotated her shoulders after knocking a shade back to cut the head from it shoulders.

"I don't know, Malkoran. That's more your field than mine. But I say you disguise yours very well." She tossed back, with a sharp exhalation as a blade cut her arm. Her pained cry had him rushing toward her, his eyes set on her and nearly missed when Malkoran stepped from his higher level to the lower floor. A spell was released and the scent of a storm caught his nose before he caught a flash of lightning dart across the floor. Looking over, he saw a storm atronach form, large stones, and lighting. He skidded to a halt, when the storm atronach blasted Karnwyr with a bolt of lightning, a howl of pain making his nerves fray.

"You're dead!" Drawing an arrow, he pulled it back, aimed, took a steadying breath, the world slowing and let it fly. It soared over the collection of creatures and landed in Malkoran's collar, earning a bloodied cough from him. He loaded again and aimed, his face smug and nearly fired when a shade knocked him back with a shield, the arrow flying blind.

Malkoran sneered as the other spell he had prepared was released; sailing threw the air toward Serlina. Rushing over, he shoulder checked her away, knocking her to the ground as he took the blast to his chest, knocking him backward far into the wall behind him.

The air got knocked from his lungs as his mind skittered into a frenzy of images, each one knocking against his temples as hard as his hangover earlier today, if not worse. It morphed into something that had him shaking. Closing his eyes, grinding his teeth, he focused on something, anything but found no stalk. Blinking the pain away his eyes swam, things slowed, sound distorted, his equilibrium swirled making him feel slightly nauseous. Trying to focus, he found a weird shimmering not a foot from his face. Almost like someone conjured a looking glass in front of his very face, he was met with a mental reflection.

Slowly, as he tried to focus on the image, it took shape. His stomach bottomed out.

One blue eye, the other clouded from age. Skin a cool pale, square jar, claw scars running from the corners of his mouth to his throat. His body locked up. His blood cooled to ice. He recognized the face.

Harald.…

His father.

Who smiled back at him.

He himself, wasn't smiling.

'Looks like you're turning out better than I thought.' A voice, a mixture of two of his past, and Malkoran, rattle in his mind.

"No..." He choked out, fear gripping his throat tight. "That's not... I'm not." The fear made him want to retch. The internal rage made him shake.

"Embrace it. Become… Enlightened." Malkoran called, his voice no doubt attempting to sound soothing. The words he wanted to say in return died as the image morphed, like someone had tossed a rock into a still lake, making the image ripple and morph. As he managed to stand, his eyes opening, the image stayed in his minds eye. What came quickly after had the air knock out from him as an arrow sunk into his gut. The image shifted, thankfully ridding him of that fuckers face only for it to be set with blond shoulder length hair, solid emerald eyes, leather studded armour, and...

Son. Of. A. Fucking.

Shit.

Thorn.

Or... a mixture between the two...?

His hand reached to his own face, more out of shock and felt something dark resonate within him when he watched his 'reflection' mirror him. His hand lifting, he pulled the arrow from his body, his hand unsteady when he saw the reflection did the same... no. Their hand, its hand- whatever. His hand clenched and dropped quickly.

'No matter how hard you try.' The words were broken, but he heard them ring in his mind. 'This is who you were made to be. Embrace it. And you will be stronger. You can reach... Enlightenment.'

Rage.

Pure. Unadulterated. Rage.

It consumed him, wrapped him tightly as his fear, his deepest, darkest fear ate away at him. His shoulders shook, his arms limply be his sides.

Is that all he could be? Meant to be? The thoughts, questions, seeped into his bone deep fear.

His darkest fear.

That he was just like the worst of them... Just like-

"Ranger!" The faint sound of footsteps caught his ears. A hand grabbed at his forearm drawing his gaze. He blinked several times, his vision still smudged and the image of that girl from the Bannered Mare came into view. Her hand on his arm, her body close to his. He could feel his thoughts all gnarl together as the temptation to hurt her poisoned his bloodstream.

She had been willful. Willing. Desperate.

Right?

'Perfect'. The word was drawled sickeningly as a mixture of the voices rang in his ears.

"Likes it rough, eh?" His mouth moved without a thought, yet, his voice sounded wrong, even to his own ears, and his own hand lifted again and trembled.

"Wai- what? Ra-ranger?" Whether it was in rage, or something he didn't want to address, something was tugging at his arm to go towards her throat. It was a… tempting thought...? Shaking his head, his hand snapped out and gripped the material near her shoulders and pulled her toward him. She was saying something, snapping out of… yes. His eyes moved over the barmaid's clothes.

'Snap her out of them'... What a thought. Yet, he almost frowned. Her voice was muffled, like he was submerged underwater. Blasts of lightning had him pulling the girl away from the wall to a small staircase that lead to the podium as a harsh laugh filled the air as he felt her squirm, under his hand, her body would soon be pinned by his… He sneered and his actions quickened. Pushing a hand against her sternum he pinned her to the wall and with his other he pulled, feeling material tear under his hands, baring skin.

"Ow!"

Gods. His entire body felt like it was burning from the inside out. It was painful, but he couldn't stop.

'Embrace it. Once you do, you will feel the power.' The voice that had laughed earlier rang in his ears. His mouth found skin, his teeth dug harsh and deep, the body under him jolting and flailing. His hand grabbed and pulled, material tearing under his hands, but not being removed from the body.

"Ranger!" The sound of metal clanking to the ground had his ears perking. Glancing around, he saw nothing to warrant such a sound... Hands swung at him, one clipping his face, making his skin ring over his jaw smartly. "Snap out of it, ranger!" Snagging a flailing wrist, he sneered at the appendage that had struck him.

"Don't do that. Wench." His hand squeezed. "Know. Your. Place." The voice, not his own, growled deeply.

"Bishop… stop... Please." A hopeful plea called to him as the wrist went limp in his harsh grasp.

He breathed harshly, his chest rising and falling hard. That... wasn't right. Was it? She should be begging him to keep going, mewl against him, ask him to beat her as she offered herself up like the whore she exuded to be. Fuck. His eyes clenched shut. So why was...

"This isn't like you... You're not like this..." His throat tightened; his body shook with a force benign to him..

"Are you sure you know him?" Malkoran asked, drawing near by the sounds of coming footsteps. "When he finds his path, he will become who he was born to be." A dark chuckle followed and the sound of a harsh intake of breath. "Such... a pretty face..."

In a collection of seconds, he looked up enough to see the robed man trail a finger over the girls' cheek, her eyes wild and disgusted.

"You have no right to touch me! FUS-RO!" A blast of harsh focused power rang out at the robed man, making him soar though the air along with what sounded like a few shades, the storm atronach disappearing from his lack of concentration. His head dropped again as his eye sight shifted again, clearing after a few blinks.

"Necromancing sonofa- Ranger, look at me," He was met with internal body resistance. It was like someone hand palmed the back of his head, forcing it down harshly. Fighting against the weight that still lingered over the back of his skull he lifted his eyes from where her arm was still held, to the bare skin he had just uncovered and met a pair of eyes that had the blood stilling. Neeshan, or whatever her name had been, from what he recalled, pressed herself close to him and had gotten close enough for him to see more than her eyes. Hers had been a sharp cerulean. Sharp and deceitful.

But these?

Warm. Hazel.

Though the ring of green had his hands lessoning their tight hold on her arm and wrist.

"Bishop?" He blinked, once and his eyes focused as her face shifted, until the face of Serlina filled his eyes. His chest tightened.

"This isn't right…" He choked out, his brows furrowing together. "This is all wrong."

"Punish her!" The voice rang out amongst the cavern, the bolts of lightning erupting all around them. He shut his eyes to it, and released his hands from her body, bringing them up to clench at his temples. "Finish your trial!"

"No!" He shook his head, brought a fist back, felt it tremble, then sent it into the stone beside her head, the pain ricocheting up his arm till his jaw rattled slightly. Strangely it made him feel better. "This- you, get the fuck out of my head, mage! I don't want your enlighten-whatever shit you want to call it!" He spat as he opened his eyes and felt himself get sucked into a whirlpool of emotions as he looked over her. Blood ran from her hairline down towards her cheek, her hair a wild mess. His eyes focused and glanced lower... Her protective shoulder wrap was in rags at her feet, her top ripped at the arm until it met the mid-rise of her breast. Several ties were ripped down the front... Slivers of skin peeking out. Some covered in red tint that seeped through the armour.

"Oh, my gods," he choked in horror as he looked at her torn clothes, the marks of teeth on her skin and the blatant situation of their bodies. "No…" His eyes snapped to hers, emotions toiling in him as he took a tentative step backwards and felt another wave hit him when she sagged against the stone, her hand lifting to cover her bare skin. "I…I didn't mean…" His eyes met hers as he swallowed tightly as arrows began to fly at them from different angles. He could barely see straight, between the impact of what he had done and the rush of guilt and rage... His hands were trembling to badly to draw a single arrow. Couldn't bring himself to do it.

"Your just an animal who had finally snapped and lost himself in the throes!" Malkoran shouted, drawing their attention as he lifted his hands to them, sending another dark blast. Instinctively he moved so that he took the blast to his back, knocking the wind from him again when he shielded Serlina's body with his own... "Rid of that wench!" The command had his body twisting in all sorts of ways.

His hands clasped at her arms again, his body trembling as he felt the sensation begin to take over again.

"Ladyship!" He grunted and shook his head hard finding himself struggling to speak coherently as the images seemed to filter in... "I can't- This is, fuck I don't know what this is-" His words stopped in his throat as he heard his fathers voice in his mind telling him to 'have his way', another telling him to 'embrace the dark'. "No!" His fingers tightened, his eyes straining to stay on hers, grounding him. "I won't treat you like some back-alley whore! Not like that. Not like them!" He gritted and shook his head as Malkoran shouted for all his shades to attack once again. He looked to her, watched her eyes cloud with uncertainty and... fear... "You deserve…gods…you deserve…" He grinded his teeth as his body burned again, making him slump to his knees as the pain wracked through, dragging his eyes to the stone under him, his vision swimming again as his back took another arrow, making his breath stuttering. He saw her crouch slightly and then straighten.

Better... She deserved better...

"Bishop." Her voice, like a cleansing bell, called to him, dragging his eyes to her once again. Her body was braced, ready for battle. Saw the nerves as her hands shook as she gripped her swords once more. Her right sword raised, crossed her body and over her shoulder like she was preparing to swing to take his head off his body.

For a moment, he wanted her too. Wished it. He had begun to do things he swore he would never do. Never should have done. His eyes glance down at the blood-stained ribbons at her feet. He swallowed tightly when her feet shifted quickly, drawing his eyes back up again, never taking his eyes off her face.

"Sorry Sweetness." He said in a moment of clarity making her eyes widen, her as her arm took a long swing towards him.

It was the last thing he saw before darkness took him…

AN:

Whew!

This chapter took a LOT longer than I wanted, but thank you all for your patience! To be honest, this chapter was a little hard to diverse and debated on spacing these out amongst two separate days, but the timeline I had in mind would have gone all wonky. But the chapters that follow will certainly be... airtight and interesting. But I hope you all liked it!

I always thought this mission needed something... extra. And the fact that Malkoran has NO dialogue gave me a little bit to work with. Hope you guys like my take of it!

Question time!

Did you guys have any thoughts on Serlina's necklace? Suspicions?

What do you guys think Bishop was afraid of specifically? One thing or multiple?

What do you think Serlina is afraid of?

(I'll give you guys a hint: Its something BIGGER than falling from great heights.)

Do you think she was downplaying how the miasma affected her- if it did at all?

Please, LET ME KNOW guys! I love hearing what you guys think! The more creative the better!

Ill try to get the next chapter out soon as possible! I promise!

Until then!

Stay Romancing!

-IMME