Burns, horrible burns... pain, searing pain covering my skin...

I bolted up with a scream of pain, clutching at my sides as I wheezed. A strong hand pushed me back down while the familiar voice soothed my nerves.

"Calm down, princess," it said, patting my shoulder gently. "Come on, why do I always have to save your ass?" I forced my eyes open, wincing at the stinging sensation. "That smoke probably damaged your eyes a bit, but it'll clear up eventually. You had some burns on your skin, but nothing too serious." I felt at my sides again, recognizing the feel of cloth bandages. "A poultice of dragon's tongue flowers and snowberries will heal you up in a few hours at most. Your ranger is quite resourceful, you know."

"My... ranger?" I coughed, eyes watering as I peered at the figure standing beside me. Relief swept through me as I recognized him. "Bishop, thank the gods it's you."

"Yep, just cute 'ol me."

"Cute... you?" I snorted. "This again?" I blinked again and rubbed my eyes. "Speaking of... how did you get out?"

Bishop's eyes sparkled with mischief. "The guards all started panicking when they heard there was a fire on the northwest side of Windhelm. Without the law watching me, I was able to slip out without much of an issue."

Wincing as I fingered the wet bandages, I continued my questioning. "And how'd you know I was there?"

"Because, sweetness, trouble follows wherever you go." He cackled while I glared. "Kidding. Lighten up, ladyship. You'll wrinkle if you keep scowling at me like that." I almost smacked him but remembered my wounds at the last second. "Karnwyr came and found me. He was pretty insistent on having me follow."

I didn't reply to the ranger, instead turning to Karnwyr and scratching his big fluffy head. "Good boy, what a good, good boy!" I told the wolf, smiling when his tongue lolled out of his mouth and tail thumped the ground in excitement. "You're my good boy!" I kissed his nose and hugged him tightly, earning a scoff from Bishop.

"What, no thanks for your ranger?" he complained, frowning playfully.

I lifted a brow. "Bishop, the 'thanks' you want is completely infeasible. In case you hadn't noticed, I'm not gonna be moving around for a while."

The ranger waggled his eyebrows suggestively. "Who said you had to move, ladyship?" He snickered as I continued to glare. "Calm down, I was kidding. Mostly."

"Right." I absently scratched at the bandages. "At least my favorite ranger was there to perform a daring rescue." My comment earned a wink from Bishop, and I finally found myself calming down for the first time in weeks. "Well, Doctor, do you think I'm ready to get going?"

Bishop smirked at the epithet. "Most likely. We'll have to keep an eye on those burns, but you should be good to go and resume your quest for vengeance."

My mood instantly darkened at the thought of Nade. "Vengeance... right." I took a deep breath. "Bishop... I..." His left brow went up as he waited for me to continue. "I found something out about him. I don't know where he went, but I did find a lead."

"Is that so?"

"Yeah. I found... his son." I swallowed the tiny feeling of betrayal rising in my throat. "I had no idea he had a child."

Bishop's face was a mask. "I take it this man was someone you thought you knew well?"

I nodded and hugged my knees. "Yeah. I don't know if I ever told you his name, did I?" I squeezed my eyes shut, the painful burns bringing back even more painful memories of vicious fire and demonic howls.

"No, you did. Nade, right?"

"Yeah. That motherfucker, I swear to the gods..."

Bishop stretched out, cuirass lifting up just above his hips. "Well, I'll make you a promise here and now, ladyship. I won't leave your side until we've found him. Okay?"

"You'd better not." I nudged Bishop, and on a whim, rested my forehead on his shoulder. "How am I gonna deal with traveling the whole of Nirn without a cranky ranger by my side?"

...

"I already said, I'm not selling to some Empire-loving Imperial!"

"And I already said, if you don't, you're getting an arrow to the face!"

"I'd rather sell a sword that would stick an Imperial than sell one that she'll use to stick a Nord!"

"She's not even asking for a sword!" Back and forth, I looked at the two Nords screaming at each other in the marketplace. Karnwyr whined beside me, though it seemed he was more amused than frightened. Bishop towered over the female Nord, but she didn't appear afraid in the slightest. The blacksmith apprentice was more hostile than anything. "All we need is a set of armor, but you're just too fucking incompetent, aren't you?!"

"That's enough!" Her eyes widened in surprise as she was yanked back by her collar. "Hermir, what do you think you're doing?!" The newcomer, a large bald Nord with a full yellow beard, was glaring at the woman angrily. "I go into the shop for ten minutes and you're out here insulting customers?!"

The woman rubbed at her neck and shot daggers hatefully. "These bastards are trying to force me to sell to an Imperial." She spat at my feet, and it was only due to my weakened state that I didn't deck her right then and there. Even so, I tucked her face away into the back of my mind.

"Hermir, we've talked about this." The larger blacksmith pinched the bridge of his nose and sighed deeply. "Gold is gold. Keep your comments to yourself or I'll kick you to the curb." Hermir pressed her lips together tightly and nodded, but she continued to glower with disgust as though I had the Knahaten Flu. The blacksmith faced me and held out a hand. "Oengul War-Anvil," he introduced, "and this is Hermir Strong-Heart. Apologies for the issues, but-"

"That apprentice of yours could use a bit of discipline," Bishop interjected coolly, crossing his arms irritably as he ignored the man's outstretched hand. Karnwyr barked sharply as though to enunciate his point.

Oengul raised an eyebrow at the red wolf beside Bishop and lowered his arm. "You're also the one who brought an Imperial straight into the heart of Stormcloak territory. Don't blame me for your lack of foresight." He nodded to Hermir. "Sell these folks whatever it is they're looking for so they can be on their way."

"Fine," Hermir grumbled in annoyance as her mentor walked off. "But I'm not happy about it."

"Not asking you to be happy about it," Oengul replied. "Just telling you to do it." With that, the Nord shut the door to his shop.

Hermir faced us with an obviously forced smile. "How can I help you?" she said slowly. "Two distinguished characters such as yourselves."

"Armor," Bishop demanded, voice low with annoyance. "And I'll take that with a little less of the attitude."

The Nord woman tapped her chin. "Armor, huh?" A wicked grin spread across her face. "I'm afraid we're a little low on armor. It's slim pickings."

"We'll take what you have," the ranger grumbled, tired of playing around. "Hurry it up."

"Oh, of course." Hermir turned and rustled through a large trunk next to the burning hot forge. "Here you are, Imperial," she sneered, plopping down a thin blue cuirass and fur boots into my arms. "I hope it fits."

I sniffed and turned to Bishop for a bit of help pulling it over my head. When I poked my head out, I noticed him with his lips lifted in an irritated snarl. "You think this is a joke, woman?" he growled, facing the blacksmith apprentice.

I tugged on the fur boots. They fit well enough and would have to do until we found someone slightly less racist to help us. "Bishop, let it go," I implored. "The armor fits; I just want to get out of Windhelm."

"I'm sure you do," Hermir muttered under her breath. Rolling my eyes at her stage-whispered comment, I dug out a pouch of gold and tossed it at the Nord woman.

"Here. That should cover it." She weighed the pouch in her hand.

"Fine. Now, get out of my city."

I returned her scowl. "Gladly." As I strode away, the Nord woman decided to shoot one last comment that damn near had me turning around to give her a piece of my mind.

"You can do better than that, Nord!" she called out, undoubtedly to Bishop. "An Imperial? You're-" Her words cut off as an arrow stuck itself into the wooden wall just next to her head.

"You shut your mouth, wench!" he snapped at her, holding his bow up threateningly. "The next one goes between your eyes!"

...

I held my hands a little closer to the crackling fire, shivering in the freezing wind. My mind whorled with thoughts from the eventful past few days. A stone-cold killer, necromancy, Bishop, finding Nade's son, plus a dark dream I couldn't quite grasp...

"Ladyship?" I jumped at the sudden sound of Bishop's voice as he sat next to me. "You all right?"

"I'm fine," I answered immediately, despite the fact that the truth was the polar opposite. "Just cold."

"Mmhmm." It was clear the ranger didn't believe me, but to my relief, he also didn't seem interested in pressing the matter. "Here. You need to eat." He shoved a bowl of hot stew into my hands. "Karnwyr caught the deer for it."

I smiled at the red wolf, who tipped his head in curiosity. "Are you my good boy?" I cooed, setting the bowl down for a moment to scratch his neck. "Yes, you are! You're my good boy! My good puppy-boy!" I kissed the wolf's nose, which he returned with a few slobbery licks.

While I wiped the dog saliva off my face, Bishop watched with a raised brow. "Are you calling my wolf a puppy?"

"A puppy-boy," I corrected, picking my stew back up and setting it on my lap. "Because that's what he is. He's my good puppy-boy." Karnwyr's tongue lolled out of his mouth while Bishop sighed.

"He's a perfect killing machine, nature's top predator, and you've reduced him to a house pet."

"Have not!" I denied. "I called him a good boy, how is that reducing him to anything?"

Bishop held my gaze for a moment, golden eyes betraying his amusement. "So, if he's a puppy-boy or whatever, what does that make me?" He grinned slyly. "Cute?"

I choked on the spoonful of soup I'd just put into my mouth and pounded on my chest to force it down. "What?"

The ranger shrugged and pulled out his iron dagger, scrutinizing the edges. "Oh, nothing. Nothing at all." I watched him run his thumb along the dagger's edge, then as he sheathed and unsheathed the dagger repeatedly, seemingly to sharpen it and work out any rust. After a moment, I looked up and saw him grinning suggestively.

I rolled my eyes and started eating again. "Oh, fuck off."

Bishop finally sheathed the dagger for good and laughed. "That's not a very ladylike thing to say, princess."

"It isn't?" I pursed my lips and finished off the stew. "That's too bad. Fuck off." Ignoring Bishop's chuckling, I cast the bowl aside and wiped my hands off on my armor.

"That blacksmith woman sure was a bitch, wasn't she?" Bishop said conversationally, staring at my cuirass.

"Well, that's a turn." I took a drink from my water pouch. "Yeah, she was."

Bishop pinched at my armor- a little too close to my chest- and let his hand drop. "You know what she gave you, right?"

"Of course I do. I'm not a dimwit." With the dark blue of the cloth, it would have been impossible to miss. "Stormcloak armor. I guess she thought it would piss me off or something." I shrugged and started putting our camp away. "That's on her."

The ranger snorted and started helping me pack up. "I damn near shot her."

I grinned. "I noticed."

"Smartass."

"Better to be a smartass than a dumbass," I sang lightly, slinging my leather pack over my shoulder.

"Wench."

"Jerk."

"Bitch."

I opened my mouth to shoot the next response, but Karnwyr took over with a loud bark. Bishop and I looked at the red wolf wagging his tail excitedly, then at each other before bursting out laughing. "All right, all right." Bishop held up his hands. "Let's get going. We might be able to reach Darkwater Crossing before sunset. They've got an inn- Mixwater Tavern, I think it's called, but I'd be pissed if they tried to mix water in my mead."

"How clever."

Bishop peered at me. "That was sarcasm, wasn't it?"

I clapped my hands onto my cheeks theatrically. "Ooh, the ranger's such a smart little boy!"

"Shut up, ladyship," he growled, and I couldn't help a smile.

"Come on, Bishop." I set my head on his shoulder for a brief moment. "I was just teasing."

"Yeah? You seem to have a different reaction when I tease you."

I bit my lip, and his eyes followed the movement. "That's because it's an entirely different kind of teasing, Bishop."

"Is it, now?" He crossed his arms. "Hmm. Well, I'll try to keep that in mind. Head south, ladyship. Darkwater Crossing isn't too far from here, and by extension, the tavern." The ranger leaned in, his warm breath on my nose a stark contrast to the icy air surrounding me. "I'd like to see what teasing I can get in once we've got a few bottles of mead in us."

...

It was already past sunset and we were nowhere near Darkwater Crossing. My slowed pace had held us back with my strained legs feeling like they were about to fall off in the middle of the snowy plains. I stretched out with a slow groan, earning me a raised eyebrow and a smirk from my ranger companion. He opened his mouth, undoubtedly to make some lewd comment, and I swiftly placed a finger at his lips. "No." His grin widened, and before I got the chance to wonder why, his tongue flicked out and licked at my skin. With a screech, I yanked my hand back and wiped it on my cuirass while Bishop laughed heartily. "What the fuck?!" I shouted, glowering at the ranger furiously.

"You put it there," he said wryly, widening his golden eyes innocently. "You can't blame me."

"Like hell I can't," I snapped, attempting to shove him. He remained still as a statue and chuckled at my attempt. "Nasty son of a bitch." Bishop's smirk never faded as he enjoyed my frustrated stare and the way my face burned with embarrassment.

"Here to help, ladyship." Bishop paused and looked up at the sky. "Tonight's gonna be colder than normal." I pursed my lips, curious at his prediction. Before I got the chance to open my mouth to voice my query, Bishop answered it. "There's more frost on the leaves than there was up north. There's probably a cold front moving in."

"Ah... all right." I scratched at my head. "What's your point?"

"My point, ladyship, is that we should find somewhere to hunker down until morning. This isn't weather we should be camping in the open in. I'd even venture to say we've got a snowstorm headed our way."

I chewed on my lip, increasingly nervous. "Shouldn't we keep going to the inn, then?"

Bishop lifted a brow and looked me up and down. "Ladyship, you look like you're about to collapse right here and now, and at the pace we've been going, we wouldn't reach Darkwater Crossing for at least another three hours, and the snowstorm'll definitely be here by then. You're slowing us down."

"Okay, ouch, noted." I crossed my arms. "So what's the plan?"

"I already said, we should find somewhere to sleep for the night. A tower, a cave, maybe even some Dwarven ruins."

I pondered his words and grudgingly had to admit he had a point. "All right, fine. Any ideas?" Bishop scanned our surroundings, clearly gauging our location. A strange smile stretched his lips, and I instantly grew wary. "Bishop?"

"Head southeast. About fifteen minutes away is a rather remarkable area I'd like to show you."

I readjusted my pack and ruffled Karnwyr's fur. "Should I be nervous?"

"Not at all."

"Given that weird little smirk you've got going on, I'm more nervous than before."

...

"Welcome to Bigass Tree Cave." Bishop waved a hand at the dark mouth of the cave, and I struggled not to laugh.

"There is no way that's the name of the cave."

The ranger shrugged and gently pushed me in. "I don't know or care what its real name is, and besides, I'm fairly sure mine is more memorable."

I sighed and rubbed my tired eyes. "You're probably not wrong."

"Well, keep an eye out for any spriggans or animals, ladyship. You'd be surprised how many creatures hunt beautiful women down."

"Oh, yeah. I'll bet one of them's named Bishop." I rolled my eyes and felt for the wall to steady myself. "That was a pretty uncreative pickup line."

"I've got some better ones, if you..." He paused, instantly alert as he held out a hand to block my path. "Stop. Did you hear that?" I quirked an eyebrow upward but obeyed anyhow. With one swift movement, he'd drawn his bow and shot an arrow into the darkness. A hideous screech rang through the tunnel, echoing off the walls. I had to cover my ears, and in that moment failed to notice another of the creatures coming up from my side.

I screeched as sharp wooden claws raked down my ribs, cutting through the flimsy Stormcloak armor like a knife through butter. Karnwyr instantly took the spriggan down while Bishop's knife cut through the wooden neck of a third. Golden sap leaked from the wounds of the dead monsters, but thankfully, nothing else came at us.

Bishop flipped his knife up in the air with a triumphant chuckle. "Glad we took care of that. Would've been easier if you could actually move."

"You know you don't need to be a jackass about it, right?" I took a moment to feel at the claw marks on my ribs, an unintentional groan of pain making its way through my lips. "Gods..."

"Everything all right?" I felt Bishop's hand on my shoulder. "Let me see." He pulled me along while the click-clack of Karnwyr's nails on the rocky floor reassured me that nothing would come up from behind. I heard Bishop striking flint on steel, a torch suddenly flaring to life in his hand. "Hold this, buddy." Karnwyr came up from the rear and stopped before his master, teeth gently grasping the handle of the torch while carefully avoiding the flame. Once again, I was astounded by the wolf's intelligence. "Sit down." Bishop poked around the wound. "Yeah, you'll be fine. They didn't get you too bad." He gave me a toothy grin. "I've gotten worse during sex."

My cheeks turned hot. "I'm sure," I said evenly, chewing on the inside of my cheek. "With that lovely image that I'm sure will leave me with extra trauma, we should figure out where to go from here."

"Inside, of course. I'm sure it'll be warmer further in." Bishop's eyes gleamed with mischief, and the heat in my face only spread as he retrieved the torch from his wolf.

"Shut up."

Bishop blew into his hands and rubbed them together, seemingly to warm them up. "Come on, princess. Don't want to be cold, do you?" He sauntered away without a care, leaving me to roll my eyes and reluctantly trudge after him. "Ah, what I wouldn't give for a tankard right now."

"Aww, is my poor ranger tired of being sober?" Instead of a retort, I received a laugh from him.

"And now you understand what it's like to be a Nord, princess." He extinguished the torch against the wall, and although I was about to protest losing our light source, Bishop moved out of the way to reveal light up ahead. It was an odd green, similar to the glow of the dead spriggans, but with an air of mysticism about it. "Go ahead."

I took the lead and followed the path, still wary of any potential enemies. Up ahead was the opening to a cavern bathed in light and magic, and the smell of freshly-fallen rain wafted over my nose. As soon as I took a step into the open space, warmth rushed over me and soothed my chilled bones. The warmth wasn't the most impressive thing in the cavern, nor the fact that the light didn't come from the outside. It was the giant gleaming tree in the middle that radiated magicka. Birds and butterflies flitted around, basking in the tree's radiance that chased away the frigid outside air.

"It's nice, isn't it?" I almost jumped out of my skin at Bishop's voice beside me, and I grabbed at my chest with a huff.

"Gods, don't do that!" I snapped, pushing him a bit. "Stupid." Karnwyr trotted up beside me and nosed my hand, and I knelt down and started baby-speaking to him just to annoy Bishop. "Not you, good boy!"

Bishop frowned in irritation, showing I'd succeeded in pissing him off. "This again? I already told you, don't talk to my wolf like that."

"But he's my good boy!" I kissed the top of Karnwyr's head and continued to scratch his neck fur. "He's a good, strong, handsome boy! Your ranger's just jealous, isn't he? He's just jealous!"

Bishop pressed his fingers to his temple. "Ladyship, I don't know how your mind works-"

"-Or if it even does," I finished. "You've used that line at least three times before. Get some new material." Bishop snorted and turned away to dig through his pack.

"You're so funny," he grumbled, taking out a bedroll and throwing it at me. "Come on. This is the nicest place we're going to find for quite some time, and last I checked, you needed to put your feet up."

I shrugged. "Well, you're not wrong." I laid the bedroll out in the clearing, relieved to at last be able to rest somewhere I didn't have to worry about being murdered or freezing to death.

"Now, ladyship..." Bishop waggled his eyebrows suggestively. "I say you sleep in my bedroll tonight. It might get a little chilly, and we wouldn't want you getting cold now, would we?"

Blinking slowly, I tried to figure out whether or not he was being serious. Of course he's being serious about this. He's Bishop. With a sigh, I slowly lowered myself into the furs of my bedroll. "Nah." I chuckled to myself at Bishop's ensuing huff of frustration. "I'll just snuggle with Karnwyr." At the sound of his name, the red wolf padded over to me and laid down on my left side. "Good boy." I ruffled the fur on his neck.

Bishop laid out his own bedroll beside mine. "That's a shame. Guess you'll freeze."

"Oh, no." I burrowed down into my furs. "Guess I will." Bishop grumbled to himself and turned over, his back facing me. My gaze was drawn to the way the light shimmered in his hair. In the mystical light that emanated from the magical tree, his hair appeared to be a dark honey brown, even blond at the tips. A smile crept onto my face, and acting on impulse, I kissed the back of his head before settling back into my bedroll. The sound of Bishop shifting in his own followed, then with an incredulous voice came a question. "What was that for?"

"Something the matter, ranger?" I teased, setting a hand onto the sleeping wolf at my side. My tone softened. "I just wanted to say thank you for everything." For once, it appeared I'd left Bishop speechless. I closed my eyes, ready to sleep and recuperate from the terror in Windhelm.

"I- yeah. Don't mention it." He sounded like he wanted to say something else for a moment but gave up on it. "Goodnight, ladyship. Try not to snore too loud, 'kay?"

My smile remained. "Okay, I'll try. Goodnight, Bishop."

…

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Inns and Taverns SE: phoenixfabricio