Bishop's eyes scanned the area, and I wasn't sure if he was checking for enemies or Karnwyr. It had to be one of the two. He shot me a glance, then spoke without a smile despite the amused nature of his following remark. "Better be careful, ladyship. There are wolves that hunt beautiful women here."

I rolled my eyes. "You seem to use the same pickup lines again and again. Would it kill you to be original?" I bit my lip nervously. "Where's Karnwyr?"

"Probably waiting in Riverwood," Bishop replied. "He knows when we get separated to meet up in Riverwood. After all, the Sleeping Giant has damn good ale, and they don't mind handing out a bit of venison to him."

"Are you sure?" I asked nervously, not wanting to leave Karnwyr behind. Bishop gave me a pointed glance, and I held up my hands in surrender. "You're right, you're right. You know your wolf better than anybody."

"Damn right, I do."

"Now, about that dragon-" Bishop pressed a calloused finger to my lips, stopping my words in their tracks.

"Not now. Let's get to Riverwood first, get a room, and then we can talk all we need." He waggled his eyebrows. "Of course, I don't like to waste time on talk, but if that's what it takes-" It was my turn to silence him, pressing my own finger to the ranger's lips as he'd done to me.

"No. Nope. Absolutely not." I squeezed my eyes shut. "No." Bishop's amber eyes gleamed with curiosity as I rubbed my temples. "I think I need to clarify something. We are not having sex, we are not lovers, and the only thing we need to talk about is that damn dragon we almost got killed by!"

Bishop stared me down for a few moments, but I refused to back down. "Whatever you say, ladyship," he said with a shrug. "But one of these days, you won't be able to resist my animal magnetism, mark my words."

"Consider them marked." I waved him on. "Let's go. We're wasting time bickering like children." We continued heading down the mountain while I tried to lead Bishop the best I could between the odd bandit and wolf. The ranger was in no proper state to fight and he knew it. We needed to dump another potion on that back before we could go anywhere.

"Isn't it ironic?"

I brought myself back to the present. "Isn't what ironic?"

Bishop gestured to the distant village up ahead. "We started off in Riverwood, and here we come waltzing back, only it's your quest we're on this time."

"I suppose that is rather ironic," I admitted, rubbing at my limbs. "Only this time, I think I may actually need to rest for a while. Going against a dragon? That's beyond my pay grade." I nodded him on. "Let's go. We both need to lie down."

...

I pushed on the hay-filled bed and checked it for lice. Once satisfied, I sat down, breathing deeply. Thankfully, Bishop had been right about his wolf. Karnwyr had been waiting for us in Riverwood, sitting just outside the Sleeping Giant. I walked out of the room and nodded at Bishop, and he tossed a few coins onto the counter to pay for the rooms.

"Should we go to the general store?" I queried. "Riverwood's too small to have an apothecary."

Bishop grunted and reached for his back. "They'd better have what I need."

"I'm sure they will. And if not, I'll head to Whiterun to find what's-her-name and grab something."

The ranger gave me a half-smile. "I appreciate it, ladyship." I placed a hand to my hand dramatically and took a sharp breath.

"Did the mean, surly ranger just thank me?"

Bishop rolled his eyes. "Do you have cotton in your ears? I said I appreciate it. I never said 'thank you.'"

I touched his nose. "Except you just did!" I sang. Bishop huffed irritably and stomped off to his room without another word. I laughed to myself and headed out the door.

...

"Well, one of us has to do something!"

"I said no! No adventures, no theatrics, no thief-chasing!" Two people, a man and a woman, were in the middle of a heated argument inside the Riverwood Trader. I recognized them as Camilla and Lucan, the siblings that ran the store.

"What are you going to do then, huh?" Camilla challenged, putting her hands on her hips. "Let's hear it!"

Lucan scowled at his sister. "We are done talking about this!" He moved to turn away and noticed me at the door. His cheeks flushed a bright red, and he cleared his throat. "Oh, a customer. Er... sorry you had to hear that. I don't know how much you overheard, but the Riverwood Trader is still open, feel free to shop."

I shrugged. "Everyone has their problems, right?" I said a quick 'hello' to Camilla before walking up to the counter and leaning on my palms. "Do you sell potions?"

The Imperial nodded and turned around to rustle through a bag. "I think I have a few bottles laying about, but if you want the special, more complicated stuff, you'll have to visit Arcadia's Cauldron in Whiterun."

"And in the meantime, we'll be sitting here just accepting our misfortune, isn't that right, Lucan?"

I couldn't push down my curiosity as Camilla challenged her brother. "Did something happen?"

Lucan looked up at me, clearly embarrassed. "Yes, we... we did have a bit of a... a break-in." He stood up straight and set four bottles on the counter, two red and two blue. "The robbers were only after one thing. An ornament, solid gold in the shape of a dragon's claw."

"Sorry to hear that." I pointed to the red potions. "What kind are these?"

"Health potions, but they're smaller doses."

I chewed my lip and contemplated whether or not I'd need to go to Whiterun. "How much?"

"It's 17 for one, or 30 for both."

"I'll take them." I patted around my belt for my coinpurse, only for my heart to drop. All my money was gone, likely taken by those damn Imperials. "Dammit," I muttered under my breath. My mind raced. Bishop needs those potions, and Bishop used the last of his own coin to get the rooms. I cleared my throat. "How about a deal? If you let me have those potions, I'll help you get the claw back."

Lucan's eyes widened. "You could?"

"Yep. I kill bandits for breakfast."

The shopkeeper all but shoved the potions into my hands. "Take them. I've got some coin coming in from my last shipment, too. I'll give you half of that too if you bring my claw back. That thing is priceless to Camilla and me."

I scooped up the potions. "No problem. You have no idea how badly I need these. Any idea where those bandits are?"

Lucan sucked on his teeth and shared a nervous glance with his sister. "Right. Uh, you'll be headed to Bleak Falls Barrow. It's not hard to find; it's just northeast of town. You can see it from the road."

"I don't think that'll be a problem." At my reassurance, the Imperials both let out relieved sighs. As I closed the door behind me, I heard Lucan and Camilla start up a new conversation.

"Lucan, I was thinking we should have a grand sale..."

...

I strolled into the Sleeping Giant, then into Bishop's room. He was lying on his stomach, and I might have thought he was sleeping if it wasn't for the amber eyes that snapped open the second I walked in. I held up both potions.

"You got 'em." It wasn't a question, more of a statement as he tried sitting up. I pushed his shoulder, forcing him down onto his stomach.

"Back down, mister. These should be enough to heal you back up."

Bishop sat back up, smacking away my hand when I reached to push him down. "Hold it, ladyship."

"What are you-" I bit my lip hard as I watched him unbutton his jacket with mischief in his shining golden eyes.

"Everything okay, ladyship?" He continued to smirk as I forced myself not to react. "What's the matter?" He reached up, flexing the thick muscles that usually remained hidden underneath his black leather cuirass. "Like what you see?"

I snorted and shoved him back onto his stomach. "Hardly."

"That's a shame."

I rolled my eyes. "With comments like that, I'm surprised you're not taken," I said sarcastically, uncorking the healing potion and dumping it over his bare back. The skin slowly started returning to its normal color.

"What, you didn't notice my trail of admirers?" Bishop simpered before laughing. "Start washing your eyes in the morning."

"Oh, shut up." I poured the second potion on, finally getting rid of the wounds he'd sustained during the dragon's attack. "There. Good as new." I picked up his black jacket and threw it at him. "Now, get dressed."

"I don't know, ladyship. When I can, I prefer to sleep naked, and preferably with a beautiful woman beside me."

"Mmhmm. You do that." A bit hesitantly, I sat down on the bed beside him. "Now... I guess we should talk about Helgen."

Bishop nodded slowly, staring at Karnwyr. "All right." He pulled his jacket on. "Dragons are back, or at least one of them, and we almost died but didn't. What else is there to talk about."

"The fact that dragons are back." I put my head in my hands. "Bishop, dragons haven't been seen for hundreds, if not thousands of years. And if I'm not mistaken, on the way to Windhelm, you mentioned the dragon barrows and said that you thought dragons weren't anything more than a fairytale."

The ranger rolled his eyes at my pointed comment. "Whatever. I guess they're not. Happy?" he grouched.

"Ecstatic," I deadpanned. A few seconds of silence passed before I spoke again. "Did you follow me to Helgen to rescue me?"

Bishop cast his gaze to the side, for some reason appearing slightly uncomfortable. "Somewhat. The Imperials ambushed me like I suppose they did to you." He gestured to the destroyed Stormcloak armor I wore. "I guess that armor wasn't exactly a boon in that situation."

"Nope."

"Ladyship, you get into trouble more often than anyone I've ever met." He put his hands behind his head and laid back on the pillow. "Yeah, the Imperials threw me into the back of a wagon, but luckily for us both, I wasn't out for too long. I managed to escape with my bow, my dagger, and my pride."

I stared him down. "And you watched them put my neck on that chopping block? You could have gotten me out before then."

"What, and get shot down by a thousand Imperial soldiers?" Bishop snorted. "Use your head, princess." He tapped my forehead, and I smacked his fingers away. "I was waiting for a distraction at first. Secondly, I had my bow drawn and ready to stick that headsman before that big black dragon showed up."

I hugged my knees. "Aren't we a pair of lucky bastards?"

Bishop laughed to himself. "That's one day to put it." He stretched out with a groan, sighing in satisfaction as he returned his hands to under his neck. "Well, you should head to your room, princess." He nodded to the second key on the dresser, which I took. "I'm looking forward to a few days of rest and ale." I felt my cheeks turning red, something that the ranger obviously noticed. "We are resting, aren't we, ladyship?" he said dangerously. I pursed my lips, and Bishop groaned in irritation. "Princess, don't tell me you managed to get someone else to take advantage of your poor bleeding heart."

I bit my lip and stood up, clutching the iron key in my hand. "Okay, then I won't tell you." Before Bishop could ask any more questions, I quickly stood and headed out the door. "I need some goddamn sleep," I said to Karnwyr as he trotted after me, "and your master is a real dick."

"I've got a real dick too, princess!" Bishop called after me, and I could just see the mocking smirk on his face in my mind's eye. "Wanna see?" My face flushing a brilliant red, I slammed my fist onto the door.

"Shut the fuck up!" I snapped, ignoring the dent I'd put into the wood. At the sound of murmuring, my embarrassment only grew, and I remembered that I was in a public place. Not just any public place, of course, but an inn where nice people were just trying to have a meal and relax.

A little girl tugged on her father's shirt, drawing his attention from me. "Papa? What does fuck mean?"

Instead of responding, the father's frustrated sigh almost seemed to echo around the room. Covering my face, I hurried off to my own room and slammed the door. Thanks a lot, Bishop, I thought crossly, blowing out the candle and sliding under the blankets. Dick.

...

Fire and brimstone. Inescapable cages. Desperate pleas for a death that never came.

...

The next morning, I remained stubbornly silent while eating the stale toast and old water the inn offered for breakfast. Bishop's constant attempts to talk to me failed, and I avoided the eyes of everyone there in the Sleeping Giant. The most judgmental wasn't the barkeep, but the weird woman strutting around the inn, cleaning things that didn't need to be cleaned and staring down everyone that walked in.

"Come on, princess." Bishop downed his mead and tossed his last coin onto the bar. "You can't still be upset." He scratched at his stubbled skin. "Besides, I was hoping to sleep for another day or two after that shit. If anything, I should be the one who's got a grumpy face." I rolled my eyes and finished up my bread, brushing the crumbs off onto my flimsy armor and cracking my back before standing up. My refusal to talk was clearly nothing but amusing to him. "Darling, aren't you going to tell me where we're going?"

You'll find out when we get there. I cleared my throat to catch Orgnar's attention. "Excuse me, may I have the access key to your private bathhouse?"

"Sure." Orgnar dug under the counter and tossed it up. "I hope you've brought your own soap because I don't have any extra." A soapless bath it is. "It's right over there." He pointed behind him. "Keep it to half an hour, please. You're not the only one trying to get clean in here."

"Mmhmm." I headed for the trapdoor, though a certain ranger had decided to follow. "No. Nope. Uh-uh. No way." I pushed him back, ignoring his puppy-dog eyes that quickly gained a mischievous glint. "Bishop, no."

He put on an innocent facade. "Whatever are you talking about? I'm simply making sure my lady has all the protection she needs when she's otherwise alone and vulnerable."

I glared at the ranger. "Don't. You're in hot water as it is." I mentally smacked myself as I realized the poor choice of phrase. Sure enough, Bishop's crooked smile only grew wider.

"I'm hoping to be."

"Shut up, Bishop."

...

I sank under the hot water and breathed out, the air making bubbles in the tub. Even while I bathed, my brain didn't want to work properly as it sorted through my thoughts. "Yuck," I muttered as I resurfaced and brushed the water through my black hair, slowly combing out days of blood and dirt. "After that debacle, I really needed a bath." I'll need to take one with soap once we get to Whiterun. As for now, I'll just relax. I continued to wipe down, scrubbing off the grime that came with being an adventurer. Being dirty fits Bishop much more than it does me. I rolled my eyes at my own intrusive thought and sank back into the water.

...

Bishop and I headed out around noon, the sky cloudy and ready to release its rain. I hoped that it wasn't an omen of the day to come. It was just a bunch of bandits, right? I'd taken down hives of them before. I was sure this wouldn't be any different.

"Damn you, Sven, I swear it was a dragon! You think I'm crazy, but by the gods, I saw a dragon yesterday! It was black as night, and it flew right over the barrow!" Across Riverwood, a woman was screeching about the dragon we'd seen in Helgen, and I prayed that it wasn't coming back for us. Bishop and I shared an unsure look before heading down the stairs of the Sleeping Giant. I was ready to kill a few bandits, earn some coin, and even get my frustration out as a bonus.

"Ay, baby! Lookit here, the pretty witch is back to put a spell on us!" The dirty drunkards I'd run into the last time I was in Riverwood were back in their normal spots. Not even ten in the morning and they were already intoxicated. If I wasn't in a bad mood before, I was now.

"Those eyes, prettiest eyes I ever saw!"

The one with the bear headdress sniffed and wiped at the thick snot running down his face. "C'mere, baby! Yeah, I can show you a good time!"

The other drunkard stared me down. "You think maybe you're willing to, ya know, play outside?"

"That's it." I approached the drunks, both of whom grinned widely at my approach. "Done with this bullshit."

"Look 'ere! You want to sit on me lap tonight, baby?" the second one laughed.

"Nope." I swung my fist into his jaw, throwing him onto the ground. He didn't move, showing I'd successfully knocked the bastard unconscious. The first moron stared with wide eyes at his friend, then at me. As soon as he did, I kicked him square in the chest, throwing him backward over the low stone wall with an oomph. Bishop chuckled behind me, and I couldn't help a smile.

I held up my hand to shade myself from the sunlight as I looked up the mountain. Sure enough, Bleak Falls Barrow was up near the top, as dark and eerie as ever. While I was too far away to see anyone, that was where Lucan said the bandits had gone. I turned back to Bishop. "We're headed to Bleak Falls Barrow," I informed him. As his face fell, I copied his scowl. "The only reason we have to go is because I promised to get the shopkeeper's stolen inventory in exchange for those potions." I touched his back. "Good as new, right?"

Bishop scratched at his chin. "Why not just book it? We got the potions, his fault for trusting a couple of strangers."

"Bishop!" I crossed my arms. "I made a promise, and I'm upholding it." His frown deepened as I continued. "We had no money and nothing to barter-"

"Thanks to those fucking Imperials," Bishop growled.

I nodded. "Right. Thanks to those fucking Imperials," I echoed. The ranger cracked his knuckles with a dark smile.

"Remind me to kill the next one I see, yeah?" He started chuckling to himself while I rolled my eyes. "Well, where my lady goes, I'm bound to follow." The ranger patted his thigh. "Come on, Karnwyr. Let's follow the crazy lady and her watertight morals."

"Bishop!"

…

…

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Keep it Clean - A Bathing Mod by Sthaagg