Eavesdropper

Chapter 16: Eavesdropper

The following morning Noela tumbled out of bed, and realising that all the beds were empty and she was the last to rise, hurriedly made her way downstairs for breakfast.

She felt more tired than she did before she had gone to sleep. Her feet slipped on the logs that led down to the kitchen, and she stopped herself before she rammed headfirst into the opposite wall. She heard a chuckle.

"Alright there, sister?"

It was Gabriella, the only person in the kitchen who had witnessed the embarrassing fall. "M'okay," she mumbled.

"It's late morning. Have you not got much to do today?"

Noela shook her head, and it made her head pound worse. She grimaced. "Not really." She couldn't recall Astrid having given her anything to do. Oh, besides that little 'test', as the Nord had called it.

"What about training some destruction together? I've been trying to channel my magicka through thin implements, for a sniper type of kill. Just last week I managed to squeeze it through a candlestick—the bottom cut out of course. Today I'll try a flute."

The mage frowned, her brain not focused enough to listen. "You—squeezed what through a candlestick?"

"Destruction magic," Gabriella said with a hint of impatience. "Sister, are you sure you're alright?"

Noela blinked, saw a loaf of bread in front of her, and jammed it into her mouth. She nodded, wincing as her head gave a painful throb. Gabriella continued to examine her with concern. "You don't look very well."

Swallowing the bite she had chewed off the bread, she replied. "I didn't sleep well, but I'd rather do something productive today. Let's work on destruction then."

Gabriella nodded and they headed to the alchemy room. The Dunmer had a couple of flutes on the table and handed one to her.

"Just fire whatever destruction magic you want through the flute. Try not to damage the implement itself, that is the point."

"Sounds simple enough."

As they began firing their various forms of magic through their respective flutes, it occurred to Noela why she was in such a bad mood. Now that her mind was somewhat working again, that same loop of pictures that was keeping her up all night, began playing once more.

"Oh, fuck," she swore under her breath, seeing Arnbjorn on top of Astrid, fucking her over and over, and over. It's not like they could have gone on all night, she told herself. Then again, what did she know about their sex life?

The fire magic she shot out of her index finger singed the wood of the flute inside, and it began smoking.

"Careful, sister," Gabriella warned, glancing over. "I don't have any more flutes."

Luckily, the instrument put itself out. She decided to try ice. Her ice shards fit perfectly through the flute with no problem, but this whole exercise made the visuals worse.

The Dunmer suggested, "See if you can grow your ice shard as big as possible, but still be able to shoot through the flute. If you grow it until it's just large enough to shoot out the other end, that's true fine control of your magic."

Noela prepared her shard, staring at the long, growing piece of ice in her hand. On top of her headache, she now felt nauseous. She stopped her magicka just as the diameter was a little smaller than the interior of the flute.

Gabriella was watching her, and said, "Great, now just shoot it through." She released it. "Excellent! A perfect shot. Do it again."

As the next piece of ice began to grow in her palm, Noela looked at the flute on the table and shook her head. "I think that poor flute's had enough abuse for today. I'll take a break."

Her sister nodded and Noela left the room, heading into the cavern and the training area. She wanted a distraction, not a reminder every two seconds of—something penetrating something. Why, oh why Gabriella had to do this exercise today was beyond her.

She spotted Veezara training with swords. Great. She wanted to smash something.

The Argonian waved her over and offered for her to join. She accepted and they switched to melee training on the wooden and straw dummies.

Finally, as her dagger slashed against the wooden figure's face, she felt satisfied. That, right there, was Arnbjorn's face. She proceeded to stab at the neck of the dummy and carve through where the throat would be. Small bits of wood and straw flew off but she couldn't care less. She pivoted, her footwork leading her to land another cut along his back. She rolled, pretending her adversary was approaching and she landed back in front of him, on one knee. Between the figure's legs—okay, it was literally a wooden stake, but one had to imagine when training with a dummy—she sliced off its genitals. Puffing, she stopped.

"Wow sister, you are energetic today," Veezara commented. "Was it from all the food last night?"

"Sure," replied Noela, glad that on some level, she did feel a bit better.

The sound of footsteps caught their attention and Noela felt her rage return, at a higher intensity than before.

Arnbjorn came down the stairs and crossed their path, presumably heading toward the kitchen. "Lunch," he grunted as he passed.

"Would you like to train with us later, brother?" Veezara asked him.

"Hmm, we'll see." The werewolf left.

Veezara now turned to her. "In that case, why don't we spar a while?"

For a half hour Noela trained with Veezara, the sound of swords clanging together. They had switched to swords as it made sparring with weapons more fun than just daggers. She actually enjoyed his company, and as he was better in weaponry than her, offered useful advice and tips as they practised various parrying techniques.

They were just taking a breather when Arnbjorn returned. He stopped by them and Noela felt her hand tighten on her sword's handle.

"Joining us, brother?" Veezara repeated.

Arnbjorn nodded. "What training are you doing?"

"Swords, but I was thinking we could do a sparring match with our usual weapons. What do you think?" Veezara asked, looking round at them both.

Arnbjorn met Noela's eye and she found herself not wanting to blink. She was sure he could feel the intensity of her glare. "Sounds good," the werewolf answered. "What about first up, me and beef roast here?" he suggested, gesturing at her.

"Of course." Veezara bowed out and made his way to the side of the training area. "Now, the rules are, no magic and no transformations—this is weapons only," he called out. "And no Dragonborn abilities," he added to Noela, and she nodded. "Remember this is a sparring match, so no injuries. Whoever incapacitates the other first, wins."

They positioned themselves about two metres from each other, Arnbjorn grasping his two-handed battleaxe and Noela with a dagger in each hand. She knew immediately that she was at a disadvantage. Not only were daggers less useful in battle, but her fighting abilities were nowhere near as good as her mage abilities. Whereas, as far as she could tell, Arnbjorn primarily used weapons. Well, at least he wasn't allowed to transform.

She exhaled to steady herself, waiting for Veezara's signal.

"Start!" he yelled, and the battle began.

Arnbjorn charged immediately with a two-handed swing of his battleaxe. Noela dodged and rolled easily, landing on all fours. Swinging about, she decided to go all out straight away and launched a dagger at her opponent, but the Nord pivoted and dodged the flying projectile.

Retrieving a spare dagger from within her robes, Noela stood on guard, wondering just how she was supposed to incapacitate Arnbjorn without using magic or her Thu'um.

The man straightened up and turned about. He stood there for at least three seconds, sizing her up, probably trying to think up his own strategy. To Noela, it was pretty simple. The only way to win was to disarm the other. Get rid of his weapons, and then pin him so he'd have to tap out and surrender. There was no other way.

"YOU'RE GOING DOWN, LAMB SHANK!" the werewolf suddenly yelled, and his face contorted aggressively.

"Come get it, you stinking werewolf," she responded coolly, smirking at how satisfied this battle was making her feel. She wanted to beat the shit out of him, and she now had a perfectly valid reason to do so.

"ARGH!" Arnbjorn roared as he charged once again, and she niftily dodged his stupid, straightforward attack. This time though, the Nord swung his axe in multiple directions, and all she had to do was read where its arc through the air would be next.

It wasn't anything she couldn't handle, but Arnbjorn's ferociousness meant that one misstep was all it would take for her to lose a limb, possibly more.

As he swung again and again, it became apparent to her that this was not just a friendly spar, nor was it a spar between rivals.

"Shit!" Noela swore as the blade of the axe missed her by a hair. No, she realised as she tumbled with a backward roll and saw a few strands of her brown hair flying to the ground. He had actually sliced off a few strands.

"Hey! Hey!" Noela heard Veezara call from somewhere in the distance. "Tone it down, Arnbjorn. You almost cut off her head!"

Arnbjorn jumped back, his sweat-matted hair clinging to his face. He smirked, his eyes glinting delightedly.

So, she was right. This was more than just a spar. This was deadly. He was fighting as if he wanted to kill her. And then she smiled. Perfect, this was absolutely perfect. She didn't know why he was out to get her, but she had no problem with it. They both wanted to kill each other, now who wanted it more?

With a new rush of adrenaline, it was Noela's turn to go on the offensive. The blundering fool was too large and slow with his two-handed weapon, that it would be a cinch to find an opening.

As she approached, Arnbjorn positioned himself in a defensive stance, and she feinted a frontal attack with the dagger in her right hand. The Nord used the handle of his battleaxe to block her strike, and then she quickly dashed to the right with her left arm outstretched, aiming to slice the area around his ribs.

Unfortunately, Arnbjorn was quick to recover from the first blow, and jumped backward just in the nick of time to avoid being slashed. Flowing fluidly with his movement backward, Noela flung herself forward and swung both daggers upward at the handle of the battleaxe, trying to disarm Arnbjorn who was still holding it loosely while he recovered.

It almost worked. The axe flew upward, but Arnbjorn, being much taller than her, caught it while it was high in the air and now used gravity to bring it back down over her head. She leapt backward, narrowly avoiding injury once again.

Noela could hear Veezara's yells in the background but she was too engrossed in the fight to make out his words.

"Now it's my turn," Arnbjorn sneered, not reacting to Veezara either. He took a few steps toward her, swinging his axe around like it was a toy, and all of a sudden launched himself with blinding speed right at her.

He was unexpectedly too fast, and she felt both daggers flying out of her hands as she caught the handle of the battleaxe as it came down on her.

Her back painfully hit the ground and she wrestled the handle of the axe, Arnbjorn bearing down from above her, aiming the blade right into her face. As he pressed down and she struggled by pushing up on the handle from under him, Noela came to the fleeting realisation that this was exactly what Astrid would see when he was on top of her.

Noela looked into his deadly eyes, the veins popping out of his forehead, and with a forceful yell, pushed the handle off at a different angle so that Arnbjorn and his axe were thrown off while she rolled out from beneath.

Spotting her daggers on the ground, she dashed to the closest one, which was between her and the werewolf. She sprinted toward Arnbjorn who had his back to her, the Nord tugging hard at the battleaxe which was now lodged blade-first into the ground.

Sensing her rushing toward him, Arnbjorn turned his back on his weapon and faced her full on. She zipped left and right, trying to throw him off, his arms outstretched as if ready to catch her.

This was it. It was now or never. Letting her momentum carry her all the way to the end, she abruptly threw the dagger off to the left, Arnbjorn's eyes following the weapon, likely wondering why in the world she had let loose the only weapon she had on her.

And she pounced, punching him square in the jaw with her left fist. She punched his face again with her other hand, and again with the left. Arnbjorn fell to the ground, unable to properly block the barrage of attacks to his face, and she pinned him with knees on either side of his waist.

She felt him grab her around her own waist but she dug her knees in harder. She knew she didn't have much time as her body was too light, but she wanted to land as many punches to his face as she could.

She felt a blow to her ribs, but she kept up her attacks, and before long the only thing she could see was red. Red, across her vision. Red, pouring out of Arnbjorn's broken nose and from the bleeding scratches on his cheeks and jaw. And red, on the knuckles of both her hands, the bones cracked and her ribs likely to be as well.

"Stop, stop, STOP!"

Noela felt hands grabbing at her robes and she was pulled off the man, noticing Astrid's voice and Veezara and Gabriella the ones holding her back now.

"Sister, brother, what in the name of Oblivion?" Veezara scolded furiously. "Did you two not hear I called the fight over more than two minutes ago?"

Astrid dove onto her knees beside Arnbjorn and snapped her fingers. "Gabriella, heal him immediately." She stood up and glared at Noela. "You, outside, now."

Astrid marched toward the entrance of the sanctuary and Noela followed after her, trying very hard to keep up but noticing that her body was not working properly. The excruciating pain in both hands and the left side of her ribs could only mean one thing: she had a lot of broken bones.

Stumbling after Astrid and directing her healing magic toward all her injuries, she managed to make it out the sanctuary door and into the trees nearby, before Astrid stopped and Noela collapsed on the ground, unable to stand anymore. They were out of view of any passers-by.

The Nord was furious. "What in the name of Sithis was going on in there? Why were you bashing up my husband?"

A crease formed on Noela's brow, wondering why she was so mad. "It was just a sparring match. I was punching your husband because he tried to decapitate me and then bury an axe in my face."

Astrid stared at her. "What?"

"You heard me." Noela wasn't watching her, instead focusing on the golden glow emanating from her hands as she now tended to her ribcage. "But he seemed extra violent. I got the sense that he wanted to kill me."

"Nonsense," the Nord replied. "And why would he want to do that?"

The mage looked up at her then. "How should I know? From the moment the battle started, there was killing intent. If I wasn't on my toes, he would've been successful. And Veezara even said we were not supposed to injure one another."

"Arnbjorn has no reason to… no, he doesn't have anything against you. Besides him disliking everyone by default, of course."

"So he doesn't know about…" Noela wasn't sure she should bring it up, but she did want to know.

Green eyes met hers and Astrid said, "If you're talking about the night we had sex, well, no, technically he does not know about that."

"You didn't tell him anything?"

The Nord frowned. "No, I didn't tell him,not that it's any of your business, sister. But why are you asking that?"

Noela shook her head. "I'm just trying to figure out why he was so hostile during the fight. I thought that maybe it was because of that."

"No, that would not be possible. Arnbjorn can really get into a fight, when he wants to. If he thinks you're worth the energy, he'll take it all the way. He loves a good battle, my husband. He's ferocious and a master fighter, it's actually rare he would go all out in a training session. You can view it like… he sees you as an equal, a true adversary. It's nothing but an honour, Noela."

Now that she said it like that, Noela supposed it did make sense. She figured she'd have to take Astrid's word for it—it's not like she knew Arnbjorn well enough to know anything that he was thinking.

"Oh and uh, speaking of Arnbjorn, I should apologise to you about last night. Him barging in like that. I told him off, of course."

Noela waved her hand, remembering the whole reason why she had been so irritated the entire day. Despite having used Arnbjorn's face as a punching bag, she still wasn't completely satisfied. "It's fine, don't worry about it. He's your husband, you have sex, it's normal." She had no intention of letting Astrid know her true feelings about Arnbjorn, that would make her look unbearably petty.

The mage stood up, her tank of magicka fully depleted, and was pleased to know that her ribs felt significantly better. They were almost fully healed, and she could move without wincing.

"But," Noela continued. "Why are you not telling Arnbjorn about what we did? He's your husband, it's in your agreement, as you mentioned. Or is it more like a 'don't ask, don't tell' thing?"

She gazed at her superior, waiting for a reply, knowing for sure she was toeing the line. Noela knew it was none of her business, but it didn't make sense. Surely Arnbjorn should know one of Astrid's mistresses was strutting about the place, possibly even flirting with his wife behind his back?

"You shouldn't be asking, sister, but I see no harm in telling you, so long as you can keep a secret," Astrid replied. "And since you haven't mentioned to anyone about our special night together, I assume you can." She took a deep breath, and her tone turned serious. "The truth is that there's a condition to the agreement. As you know, I'm allowed to sleep with other women, but I have to tell him after. The condition, however… the condition is that the woman must not be a part of our family. In other words, she can't be a Dark Sister."

Noela blinked, her mind flashing in realisation. "So then… what we did—that was forbidden?"

The Nord nodded. "Hence why I haven't told him. He cannot find out, Noela. I hope you realise the consequences if that happens."

"And what are the consequences, exactly?"

Astrid shrugged, "My marriage goes down the drain, Arnbjorn would probably actually try to kill you, the bonds within the family could be shattered, and our work will be affected. It's not hard to see how things could go terribly wrong, very quickly."

"But then why—" the mage scrunched up her face. "Why do it? Why sleep with me?" Her eyes searched the Nord's for answers.

"As I told you, I couldn't hold it in anymore," Astrid replied, her gaze direct and unaffected. "My desire for you reached a pinnacle and wouldn't dissipate, so I had to take action. Unfortunately Arnbjorn was pretty strict with this rule—he didn't want to have to see the sister-in-question's face day in and out, in his own home. Which is perfectly fair, I might add."

"And so," Noela continued. "That desire is indeed gone? One good fuck was all it took?"

The blonde paused, her eyes drifting about the surrounding trees though Noela could tell she was thinking. Then she crossed her arms. "No," she finally said. "It's not gone. Not by a long shot."

The mage couldn't help the leap in her chest.

"But we can't do it again," said Astrid. "It's going to become a thing, a regular thing, and everything will go to shit."

Noela held out her hands. "So what do you want to do, then? I have to admit, that it's difficult being around your husband, for precisely the same reason he wanted that condition in the first place."

The older woman glanced at her. "You're still not over it yet, are you? If you had no feelings for me whatsoever, you would not be bothered. What is it? Jealousy? Or are you disgusted because he's a man?"

The leader's questions were getting into different territory, one where Noela didn't want her treading, but if honesty was what Astrid wanted, she wouldn't deny her of it. Noela sighed, "Your questions intrigue me, Astrid, as do your insights. I suppose it isn't hard to see that I don't see your husband in a favourable light—"

"You were staring at him like you wanted to murder him throughout dinner, my dear. Better be careful, or your more observant siblings will pick up on it."

"Anyway," Noela interjected, "It's only because he's your husband that I have a problem with him."

"A problem that will go away with time?"

The mage swallowed. "Yes. I suppose. After enough time. I think… I should go visit the Thieves if you have nothing for me to do for now. It would help, in getting over you." The thought came to her as suddenly as the subsequent sinking of her heart in her chest. The last thing she wanted to do was part from Astrid, again, but it wasn't doing her mental and emotional health any good by sticking around. The constant torment, the lack of sleep, the pangs of anger every time she saw Arnbjorn.

"I agree," Astrid said, nodding. "It's probably better you make yourself useful over there, at least for now. I was waiting on the next contracts to come in but it's taking longer than expected."

Noela too, nodded. "So then, I guess I should take my leave," she said, her insides recoiling at her own words.

"Tell me, how much do you like me?"

The younger woman stopped and blinked, the sudden question catching her off guard. Astrid was peering at her closely, an expression of curiosity on her features.

Then, the Nord said, "Show me."

Astrid stepped in and Noela froze on the spot, feeling her superior placing her arms over her shoulders before pulling her into a kiss.

Her mind froze as well, not knowing what was going on, and why. The overwhelming scent of the leader enveloped her in a cloud of familiarity, and then it hit her that what they were doing, what Astrid was doing, was forbidden.

Forbidden not to her, but to the Nord, and that, was strangely satisfying. Noela kissed back then, pouring in her unfettered emotion, her own desire, emotionally and otherwise, for the woman. She kissed like she'd never kissed before, the terrible feelings of the day and night transformed into a different kind of fury. One of aggression and passion, a violent sort of longing, and she found herself pushing Astrid back into a tree.

She opened her eyes and saw green staring back at her, the woman watching with even more curiosity. As much as she wanted to keep on kissing her though, that was enough of a demonstration.

"Get it?" the mage asked lowly. "And that's only the beginning." Realising that she had inadvertently trapped Astrid between her body and a tree, she stepped back. Simultaneously, she noted she had also sealed the coffin. Now that Astrid knew how she truly felt, she would send her away for sure. Maybe for a long, long time.

For once, Astrid did not speak, so Noela pressed on.

"You mentioned you still felt desire towards me. Of the lustful sort, I assume. If that is the case, I know you said we shouldn't, but I can satiate you."

Astrid shook her head. "I love my husband, Noela. I already cheated on him, don't you see? I can't insult him any further."

"Then why did you kiss me?" the mage questioned. "Why ask me to show you what I feel?"

"Because I wanted to know," the Nord replied, a hint of defensiveness to her tone. "I—I don't know. I couldn't tell how serious it was."

"But it doesn't change anything," said Noela. "You love him, as you always will. And in time, I will forget you too." She didn't know if the last bit was true, but she would damn well try her hardest. It was for the best. And, she remembered, back in Riften there was…

Hope, yes. The distance would be beneficial, and the work would distract her, new people would distract her, or perhaps that certain Imperial…

At last, Noela smiled. She smelled salvation on the air. An antidote to her torture.

"I'm going to Riften tonight," she announced, all of a sudden confident in her decision. "I will forget about you, and will stop loving you, I promise."

She turned to leave then, but the blonde caught her by the arm. "You… love me? You're in love with me?"

Noela didn't blink. "Yes. And it's fucking torture being around you, and not being able to have you."

A dark expression crossed Astrid's face. "Since when?"

"Since ages ago."

She tried to walk away again but the Nord still had her in a tight grip. She gazed at Astrid's hand on her arm, wondering why she was not letting go. "You can go tonight. But first—" And again, she kissed Noela. "A farewell kiss." She pecked her again. "Let's just say that you and I, we will forget everything, and the next time you come back, there will be nothing at all, between you and me. I will no longer lust after you, and you will no longer feel anything whatsoever for me. It's how it has to be, sister."

At the finality of her words, Noela grabbed her by the collar and pulled her in fiercely, her lips crushing the Nord's, her insides screaming out in pain, her heart feeling like it was gripped in a tight, iron fist.

The blonde only hesitated for a second, before she too, was fully in on the kiss. Noela felt Astrid open her mouth and immediately Noela sought entry, wanting to taste and explore every inch of the woman, her hunger completely taking over her.

She was so distracted she did not notice Astrid untying her robes, and it was only when she felt a hand slip past the waistband of her pants, did she realise what was happening.

Noela opened her eyes in shock, and her mouth stopped moving. The other woman groaned in a way that communicated 'don't stop', and the mage complied, feeling Astrid's hand now move into her underpants.

And she let out a moan, the warm touch of the Nord brushing past her slit, jolting her loins to life. It had been so long, too long, and although her mind attempted to start up and question everything they were now doing she quickly shut it down. Now was not the time for thinking.

Astrid then inserted two fingers into her, and not even gently at that. Noela was wet enough, but she did not expect such sudden penetration, and threw her head back with a yell.

"Shh," hushed the Nord, and planted her mouth over hers to muffle her scream. Astrid kissed her with a hunger that very well matched her own. She noticed also, that once again, she was the one being dominated.

But as the Nord's digits started to move in and out of her warm slickness, a thumb rubbing her clit simultaneously, Noela didn't care anymore. Closing her eyes, she enjoyed every sensation, every stroke of Astrid's hand, against her, inside of her. At this very moment, nothing else existed in the universe.

"Fuck me…" she panted, feeling her climax starting to build from deep within. "It's your last time."

The other woman smiled against her lips. "It is, so you'd better be enjoying this."

"I know you're enjoying it," Noela taunted back, and it was the last thing she could say before her orgasm took over her.

Her cries were muffled, the Nord having resumed kissing her, and she rode her fingers down from her high. Finally, she collapsed against the blonde's chest, completely spent.

Astrid held her, giving her a full minute to recover. The green gazed down at her, an intensity in her eyes, something Noela couldn't quite comprehend. They were clouded over; whether from desire, or something else, was unknown.

But then—

The rustle of leaves. Noela's blood drained from her face, and both women snapped to the source of the sound.

There it was again, followed by… the snapping of twigs.

Astrid immediately let go of her and withdrew her dagger at blinding speed. Noela readied her hand with a ball of fire.

They listened for a long moment and there was nothing but silence. "Who's there?" Astrid called out. "Show yourself!"

No response.

Then—the rapid pounding of boots on dirt, heading towards the sanctuary.

"Shit!" Astrid cursed and ran after the intruder, disappearing through the trees.

Noela dashed off after her, fingers fumbling to retie her robes. She skidded down the wet leaves on the slope, her blood frozen solid in her veins, yet her pulse beat a million miles a second. Somehow, she knew someone was going to be in deep shit.

The question was, who was it going to be?