The Serene Forest

Part II – New Beginnings

"Can I ask you something?"

Ysolda mused as she watched Bishop dress himself again in a familiar routine. She had been thinking about this for a while and Bishop was the perfect opportunity for her, she figured. She wasn't sure why she was still so obsessed with the idea, but she was determined to sate her curiosity once and for all.

"Sure. What is it?" Bishop responded somewhat absentmindedly as his eyes roamed all over the floor of her bedroom to locate his shirt.

"Do you think I could join you on a hunt sometime?" she gave him a wry smile.

She just wanted to see the Falkreath forests properly. She had been studying old maps and records for a while now and there were all these sketches and notes – a gorgeous waterfall here, an eerie ruined tower there, and trees that seemed to go on forever. It must have been such a beautiful place yet she never ventured further than a few steps outside the city, aside from the road itself. She used to love walking the forests of the Rift, but they have become a bitter reminder of the life she had lost there after the accident in the mine. She just wanted a new place to feel at peace. She felt like it helped her before – helped her contemplate on her bearings, on her life. Helped her make sound decisions about her business and about those close to her. Maybe it was just a silly notion in her head – maybe it wouldn't help at all. But she still wanted to explore the place she had been enchanted by ever since she came here.

"You wanna learn to hunt?" Bishop smirked at her with amusement. "Is business that bad?"

It was bad. But that wasn't the only reason. And she didn't actually want to hunt. That would likely take years of practice. She just thought, with how people constantly warned everyone not to venture into the woods, it would have been a good idea to have someone with her. Bishop would surely protect her from the wildlife. As much as she hated to admit it about the place that drew her in more and more each day, she was scared. The legends and rumors about horrible things happening to anyone who strayed too far from the paths were very popular. The people of Falkreath even warned every traveler to have an armed escort when walking the roads. She had to admit that there could have been something to it.

"I… I don't want to think about the business," she huffed dejectedly.

"Fair enough," Bishop only nodded in response. He probably didn't care about her troubles anyway. "So why do you wanna go on a hunt?"

"I don't wanna hunt," she giggled. "I just always wanted to see more of the forests. They're so beautiful here," a wistful sigh escaped her lips, but her smile disappeared from her face the second she noticed Bishop's expression. Was it her imagination, or did he actually turn pale?

"I don't hunt in Falkreath," he growled through his gritted teeth. He didn't hunt around here? Wasn't that odd?

"Really?" Ysolda gaped at him. "Aren't these forests like perfect for hunting?"

"Yeah," he scoffed. "The forests are perfect for hunting. You might even become a prey if you stray too far." His face darkened considerably. It was a little… scary when he talked like that.

Ysolda let out a nervous chuckle and began playing idly with the blanket on her bed. "Don't tell me you buy into those tales. The people here are obsessed with death. They just want to make everything around here sound creepy. Come on, it can't be more dangerous than the forests in the Rift or Haafingar. People are exaggerating."

"All forests are dangerous when you don't know them well enough," Bishop scowled. That was certainly a good point, but it wasn't important. Because she had him.

"That's why you would be there," Ysolda bit her lower lip wryly.

"No."

His tone was so resolute that a chill went down her spine. She had never seen him so deadly serious.

When he saw her expression, Bishop let out a somewhat defeated sigh. She almost thought that he would relent with this doomsaying and agree to take her deeper into the woods. He stepped closer to her, tangled his hand in her wavy hair and leaned down to give her a kiss. She wasn't sure if it was supposed to be apologetic, reassuring, or a kiss goodbye, but the truth became clear soon enough.

"Stay away from the forest, red."

He straightened up after that and walked out of the door without another word.

That was not what she had expected.

Now she really was feeling kind of scared, as silly as it was.

What was it about that place that brought this out in people?

…

Ysolda cursed under her breath as her leaflet slipped from her hands and floated towards the ground.

The last week has been particularly hard. Yet again, she got duped by one of the traveling salesmen and spent all her money on useless junk. Enchanted amulets her ass! She bought them because she did feel the telltale tingle of magic in them, but when she wanted to sell them to an actual mage, she had been promptly told that not only is the enchantment not beneficial, it was even harmful. The amulets periodically depleted someone's magicka. No mage would ever want one and it was useless for anyone else at best. She didn't actually know what it would do to someone who wasn't able to wield magic. She didn't understand this stuff enough.

With a defeated sigh, she looked around the ground to locate her flyer. It wasn't about the amulets – she wasn't going to sell something like that to people and sully her reputation as a businesswoman here even more. She decided to put out a leaflet on the noticeboard, urging travelling merchants to come see her with their goods. Right now, she had nothing to even pay them with, but hopefully Valga would give her more shifts and she could afford something soon. Then she would make damn sure before she bought something else again.

She couldn't see the leaflet anywhere near her. It was a windy day and it disappeared from her sight before she could even realize it.

But before she turned around to look behind her, a deep voice interrupted her in her intentions.

"Looking for this?"

She turned around sharply, only to come face to face with a tall Orc. She hadn't noticed him at all before, too preoccupied, pondering her own problems. He didn't look like most of the Orcs traveling through the town – those were usually stopping there for supplies on their travels from one stronghold to another, but this one was different. He was dressed in fine clothes and he looked very… kempt. And his light green skin almost looked like it glistened in the sun. His smile looked so kind as he presented her own leaflet back to her.

"Yes. Thank you," she gave him a wry smile in return and reached out for the leaflet.

But before she could take it back from him, he pulled the flyer away, as if unaware of her wanting to take it back, and he peered at the contents curiously.

"Hmm…" his expression turned somewhat intrigued as he read over her message.

"Could I… could I have it back, please?" she chuckled at him a little. Surely it wasn't that interesting of a read.

"Of course," he grinned at her when he riled himself up from his pondering and handed her the leaflet at last. "Why do you want traveling merchants to come see you?" he raised his brow at her curiously.

"Oh… uhm…" Ysolda clutched the flyer in her hand. "I want to buy exotic goods so that I can resell them here to the locals. They don't usually buy from the traveling salesmen, they don't want to get duped. But sometimes the travelers don't stay long and don't even bother offering their goods here anymore. So I thought the leaflet would help," she smiled wryly. She knew that it was a good business practice. Many people were doing this in towns. It was important for the locals to know that she would never sell them defective goods, never cheat them, and then they would be willing to buy from her rather than unreliable travelers. But first, she really needed to get some goods that were worth reselling. She was still having so much trouble with that.

"Interesting," the Orc smiled at her. "It's not a bad idea if you don't have your own suppliers yet."

"I'm nowhere near any suppliers," Ysolda huffed at him in exasperation. She knew that it would have been so much easier if she knew the right people, but she didn't know any at all. Maybe she was naïve to think that it was possible to make a living like this when she had no 'connections'. But this was what she wanted to do. She always loved browsing the traveling merchants' trinkets whenever they passed Shor's Stone. Her parents had never allowed her to buy anything – they thought that all of it was just junk with a steep price, but she loved it anyway. Little pieces of wondrous places around Tamriel, right there in her tiny village.

"Maybe I could help with that," the Orc smiled at her kindly.

Ysolda's eyes went wide at him. She wasn't sure what he meant by that. Nobody had ever offered to help with her business and she didn't exactly know what it entailed. Maybe he had some useful advice.

"I used to be a supplier. Daggerfall, Camlorn, Shornhelm, Northpoint and Farrun. I brought all sorts of Breton magic into Skyrim. Ha!" he chuckled merrily. "Some people here really hated that."

"Don't even get me started on Nordic superstitions," Ysolda rolled her eyes.

"Sometimes they are justified," the Orc gave her another smile. "But sometimes they like to exaggerate too much. There's no harm in being cautious. But I brought only quality goods. You have to get an eye for that. And you have to know the right people. The beginnings are hard, but much easier when you know someone."

"I wished I knew someone," Ysolda sighed. She knew all that, but it wasn't as simple as he made it sound.

"Well, now you do," the Orc grinned and he suddenly extended his hand for her to shake. "Orbul Shatog, a pleasure to meet you."

Ysolda shook his hand almost absentmindedly as she still couldn't help but ponder on what all this meant for her. "Ysolda," she introduced herself uncertainly. She felt strangely surreal just then.

"Well, Ysolda, I've been in this business for years now, made quite a name for myself. I know a few people who could get you started properly. I'd be more than happy to introduce you." He chuckled at how dumbfounded she still looked. She really didn't expect a random traveler to help her out. Maybe he could even be her supplier.

"Suppliers like you?" her eyes glittered at him. Magic was certainly a tough sell in Skyrim, she would love some goods from other provinces as well.

"For one, yes," he smiled. "I'm not a supplier anymore though. I was thinking it would be a nice change of pace to do some… local trade, for a while. I've just purchased a small shop in the city two days ago. Maybe, once you get some foothold here, I could even offer your goods in it and give you the profits. Once your name's out there, it would only help my own sales."

Ysolda gasped in excitement. This wasn't real, was it? She felt like it was a dream. Someone like him was exactly what she needed. And he definitely knew how to make it – just his clothes and jewelry told her that he was successful. She knew that it was premature to be this excited about all that talk, but she couldn't help herself. And one thought above all others continued to reverberate in her head, over and over.

He's here to stay.

"Would you like to join me for a drink, Ysolda? We can discuss the specifics," he inclined his head towards the tavern next to them.

She liked the way he said her name. He was so pleasant and she still couldn't help the excitement and hopefulness coursing through her.

It was like a dream come true.

Before they headed inside together, Ysolda turned around swiftly and reached to pin her leaflet to the notice board. Maybe she wouldn't need such things soon, but for now, there was no harm in it. She hoped that the Orc could especially give her some tips on how not to get tricked.

"Not there," Orbul suddenly interrupted her.

She shot him a confused look as he stepped a bit closer to the board himself and placed his hand on a familiar poster there. She'd seen the face sketched on it all too many times – everyone had.

.

WANTED

DEAD OR PROPERLY SUBDUED

THORN

REWARD: 35 000 GP

By the order of Dengeir of Stuhn, Jarl of Falkreath Hold, the above portrayed bandit, referred to as Thorn, is wanted by the authorities on countless accounts of banditry, assault, murder, kidnapping, rape, theft and property damage. Any person with any information on his whereabouts is required to report to the Jarl of Falkreath immediately.

.

"Traders, travelers, locals, they avoid looking at this part of the board instinctively. They don't wish to be reminded of their fears. It's more for thrill-seeking adventurers," Orbul chuckled.

"It's ridiculous," Ysolda scoffed. Exaggerations again. A random face to a scary name that the frightened masses concocted to give their superstitions an image to appear in their nightmares. There was a monster in the woods, according to them, and their lack of imagination concocted this man – a bandit. Not a simple bandit though. A legend. A sick, twisted man, haunting their forest, unbeatable… and invisible, since no one could ever find him. She had doubts that he had even ever existed.

"Everyone here is obsessed with the 'evils in the forest'," Ysolda shook her head. "I doubt that someone like that even exists. Nobody has ever seen him, as far as I know. They just like to brew fear here. It adds to their 'town of the dead' charm." This was the one thing that she really didn't like about Falkreath. The fear-mongering was much worse here than anywhere else. At least she thought so.

"There are bandits in the forest," Orbul scowled a bit. He sounded like he ran into some on occasion.

"There are bandits everywhere," Ysolda smirked. She never understood why Falkreath should be so special with their bandit activity. There were tons of them in the Rift as well.

"True," Orbul nodded at her. "But does it matter? Whether you are right or not, you will not change their minds, you will not alleviate their fears. You should always be cautious not to travel to dangerous unexplored areas and… instead of mocking them for their fears and insecurities, you should learn to play into them, make use of them. All the merchants here do," he winked at her.

Hmm… he had a point. Perhaps the constant reminders of death in every store's name and on every corner weren't only that strange fascination of the locals. Maybe there was something about playing to the crowd.

She moved the leaflet all the way to the other side of the board – where people were asking for help moving or offering to give away old furniture or teach lessons. It was probably a good idea on Orbul's part. He seemed to think about every little detail.

She turned around when she was done and shot him an eager smile. She was so excited to see how all of this would turn out.

With her smile unwavering, she inclined her head towards the tavern at last.

"Shall we?"

…

A knock on the door woke her up in the middle of the night.

Ysolda had been comfortably nestled in Orbul's arms, snoozing peacefully, before the sound riled her up.

The last five months had been filled with such joy, she couldn't have even dreamed of it. For the first two months, she was working alongside Orbul to help her business take off. He knew so many people, so many tips and tricks on how to succeed. He taught her how to spot fakes, even what language and phrases to look out for from the traveling merchants to tell when they were trying to pull wool over her eyes. She met with several reliable suppliers as well and they all agreed to stop by Falkreath on their treks or to send samples from their shops to offer their goods to her. Things have been looking up. She was raising gold, making a name for herself and some of her goods have even been displayed in Orbul's shop now.

They were business partners, of sorts. At first. The first two months, she had enjoyed his friendship and advice, but that was all there was to it. She couldn't deny a certain attraction to him from the start, but it wasn't like it usually was. It was… purer, deeper. She wanted to know him, to befriend him, to just spend time with him.

Her casual dalliance with Bishop continued as it always had, but everything felt a bit… lighter. She had more pep to her step, she felt like smiling all the time. She told Bishop that her business had been going well and he was happy enough for her, but he never pried into things further. That was fine – it was the normal dynamic to their relationship. He never asked about her that much and she never asked about him. But it was still a pleasant way to spend time.

For the last three months though, he hadn't shown up at her doorstep at all.

She wasn't sure why. Sometimes she thought about him – he may have been busy, he may have decided not to see her anymore. Or something may have happened to him. She didn't wish that on him and she worried sometimes, but… her mind had been more and more preoccupied with something… someone else.

Orbul.

Their friendship turned into something more steadily over the course of those three months. She wasn't sure what changed – maybe nothing did. There was always something between them. And now they just… acted on it.

It was so different from her previous relationship. He was unattached, he was here, in Falkreath. But most of all, he was her friend first. He cared about her so much already and she cared about him. It was deeper, it was more fulfilling, more secure.

It was love.

She knew it for certain. It wasn't just attraction or a desperate need for companionship. He was everything she had ever wanted.

They may have started slow with their budding friendship, but their love was intense and fast. He proposed to her just a week ago and she didn't even have to think about it at all. It was such an obvious answer. She wanted this. She wanted him. For the rest of her life.

He made everything better.

He was even willing to walk through the forest she loved so much with her. Only on the edges, near the town. While both of them believed the legends to be a bit far-fetched, he was right, it was best to be cautious at least a little. There were still bandits and wild animals there, even if not monsters from Oblivion itself and vicious immortal men.

But she loved those walks with him more than anything. She always felt safe with him around.

"Hmm…" Orbul stirred from his sleep after the knock on her door reluctantly. His eyes never opened, but he murmured almost inaudibly. "Whozzat? Is like two in the mornin'."

He was right, it must have been around that time. Ysolda racked her brain to figure out who in their right mind could be here on her doorstep at this hour, before it finally dawned on her.

It wasn't unusual for Bishop to come knocking in the middle of the night.

It may have been for the best. She was glad that he was alright. And she needed to talk to him. She wasn't going to continue their dalliance anymore. As fun as it had been, she wouldn't cheat on Orbul. She had been 'the other woman' a lot of times before and she still remembered wondering about their wives and lovers – did they know about Ysolda? Did they know that their men strayed?

It must have been a painful thing to deal with and she wasn't going to do that to Orbul.

Besides, he was the only one she wanted now.

"Just go back to sleep," she smiled at him and gave him a soft kiss on his cheek. He had to wake up early tomorrow to open up his shop, she would tell him all about Bishop some other time. It was not as if he would mind – they both had a past, right? And she didn't even see Bishop after she had officially gotten together with Orbul. There was nothing to be ashamed of.

She shuffled out of bed and threw her dress on quickly. It only took a few seconds before she opened her front door.

Bishop was leaning next to her door idly and he shot her a brief smile when she appeared.

"Hey, red," he nodded at her. "Did I wake you?"

"Hey, Bishop," she only smiled at him. He probably didn't care that much whether he actually woke her or not. "It's good to see you." It really was. She was glad that he was alright. She was also glad for the opportunity for closure.

She stepped outside into the night with her feet still bare, though she hardly minded the cold ground, and she slowly closed the door behind her, as quietly as she could so that she wouldn't wake Orbul again.

Bishop raised his brow at her antics promptly. Usually he was allowed right inside without any delay.

"You got someone in there, red?" he chuckled at her.

"Actually… yes," she bit her lower lip nervously. He wouldn't mind, would he? They agreed. No attachments. Something like this would have happened eventually.

"Oh." Bishop looked at her in surprise, but his brows creased into a frown a second later. He looked over his shoulder towards the tavern, likely wondering if he had to get a room instead, but then he looked back at her expectantly. He waited for an explanation. Not a justification, probably, but he waited to see where this would leave them.

"I… I'm with someone now," Ysolda smiled at him weakly. "I think I may have mentioned him. Orbul, my… business partner. Since the last time you've been here, we've… gotten closer and… he proposed last week." She absentmindedly brushed her fingers over the ring on her left hand and waited for Bishop's reaction.

He looked… strange. He didn't look very happy, but then again, he rarely did at all. His expression was very unreadable to her. Was it disappointment? Regret? Jealousy? She couldn't tell. She could never really tell with him, but this time she really wanted to know.

"That's…" he began speaking, but his expression didn't change at all. "Good for you, red." He only gave her an affirmative nod. Well… that was… something.

"Guess that's it then, huh?" This time he smiled, a little unconvincingly, but he tried.

"I'm sorry, Bishop," she placed her hand on his upper arm comfortingly, although she wasn't even sure if he was actually upset. She still felt like they should end on a good note though. It was good while it lasted. It made all her days of struggles a little easier. She was grateful to him for that. "I'm… really glad we had the time we did," she smiled at him. "It's been good."

"Yeah, we had fun," he smirked back at her.

Well… maybe just one last one. For old time's sake. She did always love that smirk of his.

She looked all around them with a conspiratorial smile on her face. It was dark and nobody was around. Good. She didn't need silly gossip in her life. But she wanted to do this, just this once.

She leaned in gently and planted her lips on his one last time. The corners of her mouth were still curling upwards with her mischievous smile.

Bishop responded, but only briefly. Much sooner than she had anticipated, he tore himself from her with surprising abruptness and he quickly looked over his shoulder again.

"Did you hear something?" he murmured quietly while he continued to look around.

She didn't hear anything. There was nobody around. Did he think that someone was watching them? And more importantly, why did he care? Did he… worry about people seeing them kissing? For her sake, now that she was committed to Orbul? That was so sweet!

He finally looked back at her, and when he saw her beaming smile, he only shrugged and gave her a wry one on his own. "Sorry. Having a weird paranoid day, I guess," he sighed.

"You're sweet to worry," she chuckled at him affectionately. "But even if someone saw that, it's not a big deal. Orbul would understand, I'm sure. It was just a goodbye."

Bishop's expression turned unreadable for a second again, but he only shrugged after a while. His face turned into an easy smirk once again and he nodded at her before they parted ways for good.

"If things don't work out, you can always write to me," he winked at her slyly with a cheeky grin spreading on his face.

"Go, you jerk," she giggled and playfully punched his upper arm. As if she would allow that, now that she found Orbul.

Everything was going to work out.

…

Ysolda stood in the frame of her front door, looking at the serene forest in the distance.

It was almost time. It felt bittersweet, but it was only for a week or so. He would be back soon, back in her arms.

Orbul leaned in for a goodbye kiss with a gentle smile.

He volunteered to go to Solitude for her, to try to see if the owners of a general store there would go into business with her and offer some of her goods there. Solitude was a great opportunity for her, people there spent so much coin on silly things, they were practically teeming with money. And she couldn't believe that Orbul even got the owners of a store there to agree to see her goods.

It was nice of him to go in her stead – he was much better at negotiating and dealing with traders. But she would miss him, even in that short time.

"Well, I'll be off, love," he stroked over her cheek warmly.

"I'll miss you," she let out a wistful sigh. "I'll be lonely on the walks through the forest."

He chuckled at her and planted another kiss on her forehead.

"I'll miss you too. But I'll be back soon. We'll do all sorts of things to make up for it," he winked.

She let out a soft giggle as she leaned on her doorframe. Already she couldn't wait for his return. Was that strange? She didn't care if it was. She just wanted to spend every second of her life with him.

Orbul looked briefly towards the road leading west into the forest – the road they often walked together. He was going to be going there along with his hired mercenary soon.

"I hope you'll enjoy the walks even without me," he smiled before he readjusted his pack on his back.

Before he stepped away from her, he gave her another longing look and with a gentle expression on his face, he gave her a reassuring nod.

"And remember love, don't stray too far."