Chapter 65
Half-Sisters
(Recommended background music We Are Thieves and Slew of Love Letters from FFIX Soundtrack)
"You're damn right she is," the nord woman threw him a friendly grin, showing off her pretty, white smile. She pulled her sword back and sheathed it then crossed her arms over, looking at the ranger before her and the girl in his arms. "You'd really bring a woman here of all places? It's not even nice in here. I hope she wises up quick and leaves your sorry ass before you get your hands on her you scoundrel... Or is that why you're already here?"
Bishop smirked at her and said sarcastically, "Good to see you again too, Freya. I'd ask how your sisters are all doing but I can plainly see that they're looking well," he scanned over them all.
The Imperial woman gave him the dirtiest look, curling her lip slightly and snapped, "You better not have ruined my bedroll Bishop. If it so much as smells like you fucked all over it, I'll cut your dick off and feed it back to you in nice thin slices." She gripped the handle of her dagger a bit tighter, making her knuckles turn white.
Bishop raised his brows at her and laughed slightly, "Ah Venus, still as vindictive as ever I see. You know you'll feel a lot better if you let that old grudge you're hanging onto go. Might even halt those frown lines you've been working on."
She scrunched her nose at him and turned her head away with a light huff.
Bishop looked over at the orc woman next and gave a short nod saying, "Qetesh. Still sporting that busted up dual edged battleaxe I see."
She growled with a snarky smile, "Been saving it just for you, Bishop. I might have missed last time, but it's still got one good edge."
He pressed his lips together and moved his gaze over to the young girl who was staring down at Serlas' unconscious face.
He said surprised, "Wow, Bast, you've really grown."
She looked up at him and blushed slightly. Venus stepped protectively in front of her little sister and snarled at him, "Don't even think about it you disgusting lech."
"Whoa, whoa, whoa!" Bishop said throwing a hand up, "Didn't mean anything by it. I'm just saying, it's been, what? Six years now? It's just last time I saw her she was," he hesitated, watching his words, "you know, shorter."
Freya knelt down beside him and looked over Rona's disheveled appearance and said, "What the hell did you do to this poor girl Bish? Shit."
"Is he sick?" Bast pointed to the pale elf on the floor, then mumbled, "Cuz that's my bedroll..."
Bishop took a deep breath, glancing down at the still sleeping woman in his arms. Gods she was a heavy sleeper. Thankfully she didn't seem to be trapped in a nightmare so Alduin wasn't near. He said, "Honestly, I'm really glad to see you all. We need help. We were attacked by a dragon. This is Rona and that's her father Serlas. He was badly injured, got hit by a dragon shout. We were going to head back to Solitude to get help, but with the snowstorm and the fact that Serlas is taller than a tree, there's no way I can carry him that far."
Freya stood back up and said, "Well you're shit outta luck because we came here just to get out of that storm ourselves. There's a ton of Thalmor from the embassy stalking around too looking for some people..." She paused and then narrowed her eyes at him again and flashed him a mischievous smirk, "They wouldn't happen to be looking for you now would they?"
Bishop cleared his throat and averted his eyes, "Uh... maybe."
"Tsk, tsk, tsk," Freya started tapping her foot, "Wonder how much they'd pay for your sorry hide."
Qetesh gave him a sinister look and Venus started spinning her dagger in her hand and he said, "Okay! Okay! Very funny ladies - gods. Look, the last thing you want to do is tangle with the Thalmor. They'd promise you loads of gold for us, but they'd just as easily turn around and kill you after they got us. So do me and yourselves a favor and don't turn us over to those bastards," then he looked over at Serlas and said, "They'd probably kill him too."
"Just what kind of trouble have you gotten yourself into now Bish?" Freya asked him.
He sighed heavily, "Too much," then he looked between them and asked desperately, "Do you have any medical supplies on you? We'll pay you back, I swear, but we have to do something for the man. I'm worried he's not going to make it through the night."
Qetesh looked a little more sympathetic and pulled a few potions from her armor and stepped over to Serlas, "Let's see his wound."
Bishop gently laid Rona down onto the bedroll. She was sleeping a little too soundly for his liking, but he figured she must have just been exhausted from the fight with that dragon and from using that new incredible power she'd displayed. He'd never seen her do that before, but he was grateful she'd done it because it probably saved all their lives.
He got up and knelt down by Serlas. The poor man was very pale and his skin was clammy. He pulled the blankets off of him and made to roll him over when Serlas murmured, opening his eyes a little, "Hmm? Bishop? Have we returned to Riverwood?"
Bishop shook his head slowly, "No, not yet. How do you feel Serlas?"
"Terrible," he said promptly.
"Yeah I bet. I've got some friends here that are going to try and help you. I need to roll you over and get a look at your wound, alright?"
Serlas gave a low murmur and Bishop carefully rolled him onto his side and yanked his robes back. He took a sharp breath. The blotchy black mark had traveled over his shoulder and down his right arm and onto his chest. He pulled the robes back further and groaned, "Fuuuck," when he saw that nearly his entire back was covered with the thing.
Serlas muttered, "I take it that it looks as bad as it feels?"
"Shit Serlas, we have to do something. Fuck, fuck. What even is this? Frostbite?"
Qetesh knelt down and looked it over, "I've never seen frostbite like this before. This is bad. I doubt these will help, but you're welcome to them. My own mixture."
Bishop laid Serlas back down and pulled his robes back up. He took the two bottles of potion and uncorked one then tipped it to Serlas' lips. He drank quickly and some of the golden color returned to his face.
Serlas gave a low sigh and said, "Feels a bit better, I thank you miss."
"Just call me Qetesh," she said with a kind smile.
"I will try to remember, though my head is a bit foggy. I think I will allow myself to nod off a bit... more," Serlas immediately passed out again. Bishop set the extra potion down by him and then went over to where his leather vest lay and pulled it on, buckling it.
"I can't wait any longer," he said, "I have to get to Solitude to get him help," he looked back at them all, "Can you look after these two for me?"
Freya snorted, "Whoa, hang on now. We can't just have you bring back whoever from Solitude and lead them right to our hideout."
He raised a brow at her as he finished fastening his vest on, "Why? You got a bounty on your head or something?"
Freya crossed her arms and cocked her head slightly making a face that said, duh.
He rolled his eyes, "Of course you do. Well how much is it? I can probably pay it off for you, it's the least I can do for you all helping me out."
Freya looked at him skeptically, "You? Pay off our bounty? Wow Bishop. When'd you get so generous?"
He shrugged, "It's been a long time Freya, people change."
She scoffed shaking her head, "No. No way you'd ever change Bishop. Last I heard you were working as a tracker, sure, but I also heard you were still sneaking out of bedrooms late at night."
He gave her a half-smile, "What can I say? It's been a life-changing nine months, I'll tell you that much."
Her eyes widened and she looked down at Rona and then back at him and blurted, "You!? A baby!?"
He jolted back, "What!? No! Don't be stupid!"
"Thank the gods," Venus muttered and Qetesh gave a quiet chuckle.
"So, can you do this for me? Keep an eye on her and the old man?"
"You girls stay and watch out for 'em," Freya said to her sisters then turned back to Bishop, "but I'm going with you."
He raised a brow, "Now who's being generous?"
She smirked, "Well with all those Thalmor out there you'll probably need the help. Not to mention I see you're quite lacking when it comes to your usual equipment, in fact it looks like you came from some fancy party... all of you actually," she glanced around at the three of them and then looked back at him, "Never known you to willingly wear noble's clothes before."
"Trust me, I hate every second these clothes are on me. And I appreciate the extra protection you're offering all the same," and he really did. With the Thalmor skulking about and the snowstorm going in full force he was going to need all the help he could get.
"Bastet," Freya said turning to the young girl, "Loan him your bow."
Bast frowned at her sister and Freya threw her a stern look and she grumbled annoyed then pulled her quiver and bow off and passed them to Bishop.
"Thanks," he said.
She blushed a little but muttered, "Try not to waste too many arrows please. They took forever to make."
He pulled one out and looked it over, "Wow, you did a great job on these. I promise not to waste them. Thanks again kid."
She made a sour face at him calling her a kid and muttered, "I just turned fifteen..."
He pat her on the shoulder and said, "And soon enough you'll be able to buy your own ale."
Bishop tied the equipment to himself, lengthening the straps as far as they would go. the quiver was a bit tight and the bow kind of small, but he'd make do.
"Shall we darlin'?" He said to Freya.
"Oooh, hasn't even been in my company for more than fifteen minutes and he's already sweet talking me," she smiled and headed for the ladder leading up and out of the cellar.
Bishop followed and hung back on a rung and said to the others, "Uh, she'll probably sleep through the night, but if she wakes up... well, just try not to scare her or anything alright? She can be kind of... loud."
They all looked at him oddly and he just hurried up the ladder hoping Rona wouldn't wake up, terrified and give herself away with her shouts. As much as he trusted the four sisters, he still knew they were bandits and he wasn't about to drop the actual Dragonborn right in their laps while she was out cold. It was nerve wracking enough when Freya thought to turn them all over to the Thalmor. He knew how sly she could be, after all she was his right-hand woman the entire time he worked with Thorn's group.
They stepped out into snowy darkness. The cold didn't bother him much and he knew it wouldn't bother Freya either considering she was also a full-blooded nord. They turned south, heading for the road. He stayed in step with her and asked, "So how's the old wench?"
"Ma? She died ages ago."
"Damn," Bishop muttered, "Sorry to hear it. That's a real loss for Skyrim."
Freya scoffed a laugh, "Right? Dirtiest slut in all the realm. I can tell you plenty of poor sods have been missing her."
"So what are you four up to these days?"
"Being nosy now, are we? How unlike you."
"Just curious. Haven't seen you all for six years, just wondering if you're doing alright."
Freya laughed, "As if you care Bishop, with how fast you up and disappeared after the ambush at Arcwind Point, I figured you'd scrubbed your hands of us."
He pressed his lips together, clamming up. Naturally their conversation would take a dive into those bad memories.
"What? Done talking?" She gave him a side eye glance.
"I prefer not to go back there," he said.
"Hmph," she shrugged, "Suit yourself. As for us, we've been doing just fine without you. In fact, it's been great," she finished with a tone of mock seriousness.
He knew Venus would hold a grudge for eternity, but he should have guessed Freya was still angry about it too. After all, he'd promised to get them all out of there. Swore up and down he'd never leave them. He'd wanted to help them, to protect them. These four sisters and their used and abused mother who'd gone and got tangled up in Thorn's nasty web.
Then he killed his own brother and he couldn't bear to stay there. Suddenly nothing mattered to him anymore. Not even them. He really had wanted to wash his hands of it all and just forget. So he packed up his shit, took his wolf and left for Morrowind.
The two of them finally made it up the snowy slope and started trekking down the path that would lead them to Solitude.
She asked, "Where's Karnwyr? He still alive?"
"He's staying with a friend while I... take care of some business."
She looked over at him then asked, "What kind of business?"
"Private matters darlin'," he brushed her off.
She rolled her eyes, "Told yah you'd never change."
He sighed, "It's a long story."
"We've got plenty of time!" She shouted, throwing her arms out.
He laughed and just shook his head. Then she nudged his arm with her elbow, "So who's your lady friend? You fooling around with a Thalmor girl? It's no wonder you've got them all chasing you down," she snickered.
He smirked and said, "Actually, Rona is only half altmer and half nord too. Just like your sisters. So the Thalmor don't much care for her."
Freya was the only full blooded nord in the bunch. Her mother was a nord as well, though her lifelong career as a prostitute had resulted in three half-breed children.
Freya was the oldest of them and her father had been a nord. Qetesh was the second oldest, her father had obviously been an orc, she was only a year younger than Freya. Venus was the third oldest and was the result of a very wealthy Imperial man who'd been visiting the Rift at the time.
Bastet's father had been a khajiit, just like his brother Jules. Since their mothers were both nords they naturally had the appearance of humans instead of cats. And just like Jules, Bastet had suffered illnesses her entire life. It was one of the reasons Bishop became so close to them.
Qetesh had mastered her knowledge of alchemy just to try and help her youngest sister. She often provided potions to Jules as well, giving him a regular concoction she'd worked up that really helped him with his physical problems.
"How's Bast been doing by the way?" He asked.
"She's good. Doesn't get as sick as she used to. Still gets regular headaches from time to time, but otherwise she's pretty healthy."
"I'm glad to hear it," Bishop said truthfully.
"Now quit changing the subject and tell me more about this lady friend of yours," she smirked at him.
"Why? You jealous?"
"Of course I am. We always had that much in common," Freya laughed, "Two fiercely jealous lovers. You know when you fucked my sisters I almost killed you myself."
Bishop scoffed, "Look, I was really, really drunk. It was an honest mistake-"
"Both times?" She grinned.
"Yes, both times... and I mean, you're sisters, so - honestly, I thought they were you."
Freya gave a raucous laugh, "You must have been piss-ass drunk if you thought Qetesh even remotely looked like me you fucking scoundrel. Venus, I could see, maybe, but her face is practically stuck in a permanent scowl, so..." she gave a snort of laughter.
He could always count on Freya to take it light-heartedly, long after the fact at least. She wasn't exactly the most faithful woman herself. There were plenty of times she'd screwed around behind his back, granted she never fucked his brother so there was that.
They definitely had fun together. But she was too much like him, like an unrestrained version of himself. It got to a point where he started to wonder if he was in a crazy relationship with himself. And boy could Freya be fucking crazy. Screaming and throwing things, not even small things like tankards and bits of bread, she'd go straight for the biggest jar in the room. There were too many times she'd lost her shit over the smallest of things too, like if he ever misspoke or said the wrong thing to her. Then five minutes later she'd act like nothing happened and everything was normal.
Rona had only ever slapped him twice, Freya though, he couldn't even count the number of times she'd raised a hand to him. She even managed to give him a black eye once, granted he deserved it when she caught him in bed with Venus. But damn if the angry sex with her wasn't good. She was a real firestorm.
Rona though, she was a breath of fresh air for him. She was so... normal, aside from the freaky voice and the whole being Dragonborn legendary hero shit of course. She had a temper sure, but the woman had nothing on Freya, except maybe her shouts. He quickly thanked Akatosh for not blessing Freya with the soul of a dragon.
They rounded a bend and caught sight of a group of three Thalmor off in the distance. Bishop grabbed Freya by the arm yanking her down behind some trees.
They watched as the Thalmor wandered around searching for any sign of most likely him, the Dragonborn and her father. One of them grumbled loudly, "What's the point of this? They're obviously long gone by now."
"The point is," a female Thalmor sneered, "If we go back without spending the damn night out here then her Highness will burn us all alive."
The other just scoffed and grumbled some more while the third started getting a little too close to Bishop and Freya. She leaned into him and whispered, "Pick off the ones over there. I'll get the piss-skin in front of us."
Bishop didn't care for her use of the slur, even if they were Thalmor. He'd heard it used on Rona and he hated it. Still, there was no time to argue about her choice of swearing. He slowly drew the small bow and slipped an arrow from the quiver. He aimed for the female beyond and pulled the string then let it fly. It whistled right by the face of the one nearest them and shunted into the back of the head of the female. She toppled over and the Thalmor in front of them looked back for just a second, giving Freya a chance to rush in and plunge her sword into his guts.
Bishop made to take out the other, but moved too quickly and pulled much too harshly on the small bow snapping the bowstring loudly.
"SERIOUSLY?" Freya hissed at him as she pulled her sword from the Thalmor's now limp body.
"Shit!" He drew his dagger and they both leapt out of the way as fire and shock magic came flying their way. They wound through the trees on opposite sides of the road, forcing the Thalmor to split his now panicked attention between the two of them. They'd done this many times before, using an old pincer attack they'd worked on together. They easily evaded his magic attacks as he was forced to work slower, trying to stop the both of them. When they were close enough they rushed him and buried their blades into his body, killing him quickly.
They didn't get much time to recover though when they heard more voices coming over the ridge. Freya grabbed his arm and said, "This way! We'll cut around the old temple."
Bishop ran with her for a minute and then she stopped and forced him to tuck between a tight crevice in the temple walls with her. They both listened quietly as the Thalmor called out for them to halt and shouted out threats of death and violence against them.
Bishop and Freya were pressed chest to chest and he got a nice view of her ample bosom while they waited for the danger to pass. It felt kind of... wrong though, looking at her like that. He turned his head away and she raised a brow and smirked at him curiously.
They heard the doors to the temple opening and closing as the Thalmor made to search for them inside.
She whispered, "Well, they're fucked. That place is filled with some nasty shades and ghouls. Oh well," she made to squeeze out of the crevice, roughly pressing herself against him as she did so and making a very sensual face at him in the process. He nearly rolled his eyes at her. She was definitely doing it on purpose, trying to get a rise out of him. But, and he was actually surprised at himself, he felt nothing, just slightly annoyed.
When she slipped free he went along following her down the steps as they made their way back to Solitude.
(Recommended background music Terra and Soulless Village ~ Bran Bal from FFIX Soundtrack)
Rona roused to the sounds of people speaking. It wasn't Bishop and it wasn't her father.
"He's such a sleaze," one woman grumbled, "I mean honestly. All over my bedroll - our bedrolls Qetesh, because apparently one wasn't enough!" She made a gagging noise.
Another woman laughed, "You always complain Venus, but if I remember right you still willingly slipped under the sheets with him."
Rona opened her eyes slightly and saw two women, one looked like an orc, the other a human sitting by the hearth fire, having a discussion. The one called Venus blushed fiercely and growled, "I was drunk! I let my guard down once. Once! And then he even had the nerve to cry out her name when he was finishing. He's so disgusting!"
The orc woman, Rona assumed was Qetesh just chuckled and said, "I wasn't drunk but he was pretty sloshed when we fooled around. Had the nerve to do the same though, calling me Freya. I let him know just how I felt about that with old Bertie here," she thumbed back to a broken duel-edged battleaxe on her back.
"Wish you hadn't missed," Venus huffed, crossing her arms.
"Hmph," Qetesh smiled and rest her head on her fist, "He seems to have changed a lot. He's helping these two. Never seen him go out of his way like that for anyone before."
"He did for us," another person said. Rona shifted her eyes slightly and saw a young girl with very bushy, brown hair sitting by Serlas.
Venus' lip curled, "No, Bast, he just promised he would and then he broke that promise. Went and ran off somewhere and he left us with that... sick fuck."
The girl turned her head away and they were all quiet for a moment. Rona figured it was now or never to find out who these strange people were and she really wanted to check on her father. She sat up slowly and rubbed at her eye, all three of them looked over at her. She returned their stares and asked, "Um... who are all of you?"
"We're friends," Qetesh said, "Well, friends with Bishop. He went to get help for you two in Solitude."
Rona felt a shaking relief and whispered, "Thank the gods." She sat up and went over to her father looking him over. He was still very sickly looking. She put a hand to his head, he was feverish.
Qetesh came over and said, "I've got another potion here, but he hasn't woken up for about an hour now. Can't get him to drink it if he's asleep."
Rona's tears sprang forth and she put her hands to her face and whispered, "I'm sorry. I just..."
They all looked very concerned for her and the girl, Bast tried to console her, "We've been taking care of him. It'll be alright."
Rona sniffled and said with a weak laugh, "Thank you, truly. Thank you all. Please tell me your names."
"I'm Bastet, but you can just call me Bast," the girl said with a small smile.
"I'm Qetesh," the orc woman introduced herself and nodded back to the other woman, " and that's Venus."
The woman, who Rona could see was an Imperial, still held a slight frown but looked a little sadder for her.
"My name is Rona," she said.
"Yeah, Bishop told us," Qetesh said and she looked over the sickly elf, "He's Serlas? Your father?"
Rona nodded. Then she noticed his right hand. It was very, very black and mottled looking. Her eyes widened and she quickly pulled his robes back and saw that the mark had steadily traveled across his chest, down his ribcage and was slowly moving up his neck. Rona let out a stifled gasp as she threw her hands to her mouth.
Qetesh looked at it too, "It's getting worse and fast..."
Rona touched her father's face and said thickly as her tears trickled heavily from her eyes, "Ata, Ata please, you have to wake up," she shook him and cried, "ATA! WAKE UP!"
She couldn't leave him like this. He was going to die. She had to do something. Then it occurred to her. Eira had healed Bishop's severe burns once, when they were attacked on the balcony at the Grand Crystal Ball. One simple kiss to his cheek and they'd faded away not even leaving a scar behind. Maybe Eira could heal her father too.
She glanced around the room. She'd need to summon her, but there was no space to do so inside there. She asked them, "Do you have a pair of shoes I can borrow?"
They looked at her confounded and Bast grabbed a pair of slippers from beside the broken dresser and said, "Just these old slippers of mine."
Rona thanked her and pulled the shoes on. They were thin and light, not very protective but it would be enough to go outside. She stood up quickly and ran over to the ladder leading up and started climbing.
Qetesh barked, "Wait! Where are you going? Bishop and our sister are probably already in Solitude by now, there's no use going out in this snowstorm. You'll freeze to death!"
"I'll be fine," Rona said and pushed the hatch open, climbing up and out.
Venus rolled her eyes and muttered, "Figures he'd pick another crazy one. What. An. Idiot."
Qetesh looked back at her sister and said, "Watch him, I'm going after her."
"Why?" Venus scoffed, "We don't owe him anything and we don't even know her."
"Just watch him," Qetesh frowned at her and quickly climbed up the ladder.
Bast chewed on her tongue for a minute while Venus grumbled to herself, with her arms crossed before the girl decided to hurry after them, climbing the ladder.
"Where do you think you're going!? Bast get back here!"
"I'll be right back!" She shouted over her sister's loud protests.
Bishop and Freya made it to Solitude in good time. It had only taken them three hours to get there and if they took some horses at top speed they could probably make it back to the hideout in a little over an hour.
Freya stopped walking, far from the gates and he looked back at her, "Come on, it'll be fine."
"Oh, it's not the guards I'm worried about," she said, then quickly ducked behind a low stone wall as an argonian man came stalking down the path. Bishop looked ahead at Jaree-Ra who'd so clearly seen her run off to hide. He moved a little quicker and smirked at Bishop, "Long time ranger. Mind moving aside while I talk business with my associate here?"
Freya groaned loudly behind the wall and Bishop stayed firmly between the two, crossing his arms as he said, "Any business you have with her you have with me now. So what can I do for you Jaree?"
Jaree-Ra called over to her snarling, "So you can afford to hire a Companion but you can't afford to pay me?"
"A Companion?" She snorted a laugh, "Now that's funny."
"Not being paid, Jaree," Bishop said, "How much does she owe? I'll cover it."
Jaree-Ra gave him a shifty grin and said, "For you my friend, let's call it two thousand. You can scrounge that up pretty easily these days? Right?"
Freya peeked around her hiding spot and barked, "I only owe you four hundred you slimy lizard!"
"Ah, but here's how it is Freya my dear. I've just learned that you've got an in with some very wealthy financiers, so my fee has gone up. We'll just call it interest."
"It's fine, I'll pay it," Bishop asserted. He hated the fact he'd be paying a significant sum to the shady argonian but he didn't have time to sit around and haggle, "I'll meet you down at the docks in a day or so. Got to go scrounge that gold up for you first."
Jaree-Ra put a hand to his shoulder and said with a smile, "Pleasure doing business with you Bish."
The argonian walked away with a new swagger in his step and Freya came out from behind the wall looking after the argonian.
Bishop crossed his arms and narrowed his eyes at her, "Jaree-Ra? Really Freya?"
"Girl's got to eat," she smirked then said, "And what's this about you being a Companion? That's got to be a joke."
Bishop chuckled and shook his head then moved on. She fell into step beside him and laughed, "You? A Companion Bishop? What have you been doing these last six years?"
As they approached the gates one of the guards saw her and said, "Wait, I know you."
She tried ducking behind Bishop this time and he sighed and said, "She's with me."
The guard seemed to be studying the both of them through his helmet and said, "Fine. But if she stirs up any trouble it's on your head."
"Got it," he said and entered.
Freya followed and then picked up her pace and looked up into his face with genuine astonishment. He looked down at her, "What?"
"Who the fuck are you and what have you done with Bishop?"
He laughed. Another woman had said the same thing to him once before and he replied, "Told you I've changed."
"Huh," she seemed at a loss for words and he pressed on heading straight for the crenellations. There wasn't anyone out yet, dawn was another hour away. He needed to get the legionnaires moving though.
He stopped Freya and said, "Just wait here a minute. I'll be right back."
She frowned and crossed her arms. He left her there and spoke with a legion officer who allowed him in. He went inside and found General Tullius and Legate Rikke up bright and early already going over some battle plans in the war room. He stepped inside while Tullius was going on about how to secure the Pale and Rikke cleared her throat and pointed to Bishop.
Tullius looked up with surprise and said, "Ah, Companion," naturally he'd forgotten Bishop's name, but he was fine with that, "What can I do for you?"
"The Dragonborn and her father are in trouble, sir," as much as he loathed formalities he knew it was necessary and the fastest way to get things moving.
Tullius furrowed his brows, "What kind of trouble?"
"We were attacked by a dragon last night and Serlas is on death's door. We need to get to him as soon as possible, he needs help right away or he will die," Bishop remained steadfastly calm as he explained.
Tullius looked to his Legate and said, "Rikke, assemble a rescue party right away," he looked back to Bishop and said, "They'll meet you at the front gates in ten minutes. I'll alert the Palace hospital wing of his incoming arrival."
"Thank you, sir," Bishop even gave a quick bow and hurried out. He had ten minutes to get his and Rona's gear. He hurried out and found Freya still loitering around, looking anxious every time someone passed by.
"Come on, I need to stop by the Winking Skeever to get some things."
She followed him back to the room he'd rented out and he quickly tore his white shirt and the leather vest off. He slid the vest under the bed, it'd be a good enough hiding place to store the dossiers until he could come back for them. He grabbed his black leather armor and quickly changed behind the divider.
He heard Freya poking around and being nosy when she said, "Just how long have you been shacking up with this girl?"
"I already told you," he said, "It's been about nine months."
"Fuck, really? That's like ten thousand years for a guy like you. She must be something special if you've stuck with her that long."
He smiled as he yanked his top on, buckling it. She sure was. He strapped his own bow and quiver to himself and equipped his swords and dagger to his belt. He came around and found Freya holding up a pair of Rona's lacy red panties, looking them over intrigued. He quickly snatched them from her and stuffed them back into a drawer and said, "Stop being nosy."
She grinned at him and looked around, hands to her hips, "I see you've been living comfortably. She obviously has money. Never thought you'd finally settle down with a noble just so you could put your feet up and drink ale all day."
"She's not a noble," he replied as he folded up Rona's red dress, a fresh set of underwear, and took her boots and gloves and stuffed them into his travel pack. He grabbed her bow and swords too and handed them to Freya saying, "Carry these for me will you?"
She took them, strapping both swords and the bow and quiver to herself. She drew one of the blades and looked it over, "Wow, this is nice. The hell is this made of?"
"You ask too many questions," he replied.
"Still full of secrets I see," Freya flashed him a snarky grin as she sheathed the sword.
He just rolled his eyes at her and gave the room a quick once over for anything he might have needed. He'd decided on keeping the nicer boots Serlas had enchanted for him instead of his old ones and he grabbed a fat coin purse sitting by and said, "I think that's everything. Let's go."
He made Freya leave the room first and shut and locked the door behind them. She cocked an eyebrow at him and he said, "I just know better than to trust your sticky hands around my things darlin'."
She flashed him a wry smirk and said, "That's fine. I really only wanted these. They're cute." She started twirling the red panties he'd snatched from her earlier on her finger. Damn she was fast. He grumbled at her back as she laughed her way down the stairs.
They met outside with a small group of Legion soldiers, about seven of them and Legate Rikke. They were all on horseback and had a small carriage strapped to one of the steeds. It was a medical carriage meant for carrying one or two bodies.
Rikke motioned to a single brown steed nearby and Bishop hopped on then realized Freya was still with him. She gave him a wolfish grin that could have matched his own. He reached down and helped pull her up on the horse behind him and felt her press her chest very close to his back while she wrapped her arms around his waist and placed her hands dangerously close to his crotch. He rolled his eyes, getting that annoyed feeling again, and snapped the reins, sending them cantering along the path as he led the rescue party up to the hideout.
Rona ran across the snowy fields, weaving through the trees looking for an open space to call forth the Dragonborn woman. Once she found a place, not too far from the run down shack she wiped away all her tears and took a deep breath allowing the song to pour out of her and fill the skies with sound.
(The Song is Pale by Within Temptation)
"The world seems not the same,
though I know nothing has changed.
It's all my state of mind,
I can't leave it all behind.
Have to stand up to be stronger.
I have to try to break free
from the thoughts in my mind.
Use the time that I have,
I can't say goodbye,
have to make it right.
Have to fight, cause I know
in the end it's worthwhile,
that the pain that I feel slowly fades away.
It will be alright.
I know, should realize
time is precious, it is worthwhile
Despite how I feel inside,
have to trust it will be alright.
Have to stand up to be stronger."
The golden flames burst from her body and created a wide swath around her, melting the snow and sticking to the trees again. Then Eira burned into being with her own white flames licking at her body and she quietly approached Rona as she continued to sing her song.
"Oh, this night is too long.
I have no strength to go on.
No more pain, I'm floating away.
Through the mist I see the face
of an angel, who calls my name.
I remember you're the reason I have to stay.
Have to try to break free
from the thoughts in my mind.
Use the time that I have,
I can't say goodbye,
have to make it right.
Have to fight, cause I know
in the end it's worthwhile,
that the pain that I feel slowly fades away.
It will be alright."
Qetesh and Bast stood by, watching this little elf woman sing this crazy song with music that came from nowhere and then a woman, who also came from nowhere just stood by and watched her. Venus caught up to them and breathless muttered, "What in Oblivion am I seeing right now?"
Qetesh stuttered, "I... I'm trying to figure that out myself."
Rona looked at Eira and pleaded with her, "Please, you healed Bishop before, can you heal my father? He was hit with dragon ice. Please Eira, I'm begging you. I can't lose him."
Eira stepped closer and touched her face, she was as real as any person, because Rona willed her to be real, she needed her to be. And then she spoke, which was a rarity for the woman, when she wasn't singing.
"My power is to heal dragon's fire. I cannot heal burns of ice," she said to Rona's dismay. Her heart literally sank and she felt like she might die from hopelessness and anguish.
Eira's body flickered slightly because her presence was entirely reliant on Rona's emotions, so she shook off the distressing feelings and begged, "How can I help him? What can I do?"
"Once your fire is awakened, Akatosh can grant us one of three strengths. The power to heal dragon's fire, the power to heal dragon's frost, and the power to heal dragon's slash. We cannot have more than one and this power must be used sparingly. It will greatly weaken you. Do you wish to take the power to heal frost?"
"Yes," Rona insisted, "Yes, I will! Please!"
Eira looked over the golden flames and smiled, "Your fire burns brightly, it has awakened from within you. I will give you the power to heal frost then. Let me see your hands." Eira pulled Rona's hands into her own and vocalized beautifully to the skies.
(The Song is Awake by Malukah)
Rona watched as their joined hands glowed brightly and she felt a great warmth traveling across her palms and down her fingertips. They started to shudder and then a gold flame surged around their hands and shot into the sky. It flew over them and took on the shape of a roaring dragon before dispersing entirely.
When Eira finished she released her and with her song still carrying on around them she said, "Go to him now. Place your fires to the ice and melt it away," she looked up at the snowstorm as well and said, "With your feelings still in control, clear the skies."
Rona breathed and looked up at the sky then shouted, "LOK VAH KOOR!" Her shout burst through the billowing snow clouds, spreading them apart quickly and revealing a warm sunrise which bathed them in light.
Rona looked at Eira and said, "Thank you."
"Stay strong Dragonborn. The path laid out before you is harsh and painful. It always is. But you are not alone. We are with you," Eira gave her a warm smile and vanished in a pillar of white fire.
Rona turned back and ran as fast as she could, she even ran right by the two women and the young girl that were just staring at her utterly astonished, ignoring them. She quickly went through the hatch and down into the hideout. She pulled her father's robes down, revealing his bare and blackened chest. The frost had continued to travel up his neck and was threatening to overtake his eye. It was also dangerously close to the left side of his chest, where his heart rest.
She pressed her hands to his chest and allowed that tingling warmth to fill her hands as golden flames licked around her palms, literally igniting the frostbite like fire to oil as it started searing away the mark.
It moved slowly, as though the two forces were battling right on his body. She took a breath and closed her eyes, focusing her newfound power onto him, letting the golden fire envelope them both. Eira was right, she felt her strength leaving her, as though she were giving it back to her father. She would be alright though, she could sleep it off. He was going to be alright too as his eyes snapped open suddenly and he choked in a deep breath.
Serlas watched as the mark on his arm receded and the golden flames licked his skin with no harm to him. When it was finally gone, Rona gasped and fell against him. He wrapped his arms around her and said, "Velvyn, what has happened? How did you? Where are we?"
She looked into his face and hugged him tightly, crying tears of relief as she said over and over, "A tandile tye Ata."
As they came around the bend there was thankfully no sign of the Thalmor. Even the bodies of the ones they'd killed had already vanished, probably dragged off by predators lurking around.
Bishop was relieved either way and then he heard it. Her song carried over to them from the ridge beyond. He groaned inwardly as Freya muttered, "What is that?"
So much for keeping Rona's identity a secret. He said nothing though and continued on. Then they heard her shout and the skies cleared of the snowstorm entirely. How she managed to do it now when she couldn't before he wasn't sure.
He called back to the legionnaires, "We're nearly there! It's just over this hill!"
They hurried along and as soon as they arrived they found the three sisters lingering around outside waiting for them.
Freya hopped off and asked, "Why are you all out here?"
Bishop jumped down next and snarled, "You're supposed to be keeping an eye on them!"
Venus looked all too smug when she cocked her head and said, "I think the Dragonborn can take care of herself just fine."
Freya laughed slightly, "Uh... what?"
Bishop brushed past them all and called the legionnaires over. The four sisters stepped aside, looking warily over all the soldiers, but the men ignored them and focused on the task at hand.
Bishop went down and to his astonishment he found Serlas sitting upright and Rona laying in his arms. Serlas looked up at Bishop and smiled saying perkily, "I'm feeling much better Bishop. In fact, I feel at least a hundred years younger."
Rona gave a weak smile and he went over to them and looked between them both, "What? How? How did you heal him?"
"Eira," she said weakly, "She gave me the power to heal dragon's frost. It makes me really tired when I use it though."
Bishop smiled at them both and said, "You beat me to it Ladyship. I even got an entire rescue team here and everything." He grabbed the potion off the floor and handed it to her, "Drink that, you'll feel better in no time."
Rona did and she felt her energy quickly return to her. He gave her the bundle of clothes he brought for her and she changed quickly as they both looked away. Then the three of them climbed out of the hideout and the soldiers all looked confused. Legate Rikke said, "I thought we came out here to rescue him."
"I managed to heal him," Rona said, "But we'd still appreciate it if you could escort us back."
"Of course Dragonborn," Rikke said then called to her soldiers, "Alright men! We're heading back. Stay vigilant for any enemies or predators."
Bishop went over to Freya and took Rona's weapons from her and said, "Come with us. I want to thank you all properly for helping us."
Rona started strapping her gear to herself and Freya looked between him and this tiny girl who was supposedly the Dragonborn and frowned slightly.
He insisted, "Come on, at least let us buy you all dinner. I'm sure you're hungry."
Qetesh stepped forward shrugging, "I'm in. I won't say no to food. Any chance you're offering a real bed with that hot meal too?"
He grinned, "Definitely."
Venus even relented and said, "As long as you don't have a key to our room I'll go."
Bast followed after her sisters as they all climbed into the small medical cart where Serlas was sitting. He pulled his legs in tightly and looked very happy to be feeling better. Bishop got up onto the horse, pulling Rona up with him and she grasped his waist and pressed her face to his back.
The Legion started to move out, except for the wagon and Bishop looked over at Freya who was still standing there, expressionless and he asked again, "You coming or what?"
She let a wry smirk cross her lips and said, "Yeah... alright. I could eat."
"Great," Bishop said and spurred the horse on. Freya climbed into the carriage and Rona looked back at her and noticed the nord woman giving her a very dirty look. She had a bad feeling about her.