(Trigger Warning: Graphic Descriptions of Rape and Torture)
Chapter 67
Twisted Kiss
As they left the inn, they headed down towards the docks through the Solitude Gates. Rona and Bishop stayed arm in arm when they slowly passed Freya who was furiously looking the other way from them as she hurried back up to Solitude.
Rona couldn't help but look back at the woman and then turned to Bishop and asked, "What happened?"
"She was being an idiot and I told her so," he said quickly.
"She looked really upset."
"She's always upset," he rolled his eyes, "But let's not think about her. The rest of the day is for you my dear."
Rona brushed it off. Freya wasn't exactly the nicest person to her. She'd been intentionally trying to provoke her since they first met and she wasn't very fond of the woman anyhow. She really needed to stop trying to be so nice to everyone all the time.
They walked along, enjoying the slowly dying day as Rona hummed a light song and just appreciated being in Bishop's company. They went a ways down the mouth of the river, heading towards the coast. It was a bit more chill out that way and she'd forgotten her cloak and gave a light shiver. Naturally Bishop used it as an opportunity to draw her closer under his arm and said, "Mm, mm. Whatever will we do about you and the cold weather my dear?"
She looked up at him with a small smile, "You'll keep me warm right?"
"Always," he grinned back then gave a sweet kiss to the top of her head.
After a thirty-minute stroll down the coast they arrived at a tall lighthouse towering at the edge of the rough waters. Bishop went right up to the door and slipped a lock pick out. Rona grasped his hand before he could get to work on it and said, "Teach me."
He raised a brow, "You've never picked a lock before?"
"I've picked a few, but I was never very good at it," she said
He got a very mischievous grin on his face when he said, "This'll be fun, teaching my lovely Ladyship the tricks of my trade, hm? Maybe we'll turn you into a real thief yet."
She laughed and nudged him, "Come on, hurry up and show me."
"Oh I'll show you alright," he chuckled as he pulled out what looked like a dirty rag until he unfurled it revealing an entire set of different shaped lock picks that had been stuck into little slots sewn into the fabric, "Have a look, Princess."
She took the cloth from him and smirked, "You've had this with you the entire time we've known each other?"
"Oh since way before that," he said, "These are my trusty picks. Made them myself and out of much sturdier materials than the crap you can buy from the caravans."
"Why are there so many of them?"
"Because there are a lot of different kinds of lock designs. If I had the patience or the time, I'd tear a bunch of locks apart just to show you the mechanisms and how they work. But that is neither here nor there my love and I have other plans for the evening," he gave her a salacious grin.
"Well we've still got time," she shot back, "and I want to learn."
He shrugged and said, "Alright." He pointed to the first on the far left and moved down naming them, "First you have your tension wrench, your diamond pick, your ball pick, your short hook, your medium hook, your decoder pick, your curtain pick, a variety of rake picks and your bump keys. This one's a skeleton key," he pointed to one on the end with a lot of jagged edges on it,"I keep it handy in case I come across any warded locks."
"Like Nocturnal's Skeleton Key?"
Bishop snorted, "If I had the actual Skeleton Key I probably wouldn't need all of these… Damn, why can't we ever meet any useful Daedric Princes?"
Rona laughed and asked, "How's it work?"
"See all the teeth along the edges? Those are called bittings. You can just file them down until you get the right shape needed to pick a warded lock, using it like a real key. It's useless after the fact, but always good to keep one handy just in case."
She met his gaze with her own and said flirtatiously, "You know, it really turns me on when you talk thief to me."
He raised his brows, "Hmm, damn woman, I'll talk more if you really want me to."
She bit her lip slightly and asked, "What else you got hiding on your person that I don't know about?"
"You're just going to have to strip me naked if you want to find out," he said, his eyes smoldering with desire for her. She loved it when he looked at her that way, she couldn't get enough of it.
He held up the two picks he'd already taken out of his stash and said, "Most of the older locks here in Skyrim are single cylinder locks. Pretty easy to pick," he showed her the pick with a bent right angle and said, "This is your tension wrench, you press that in like so, to hold the cylinder steady," then he held up the other piece with a slightly curved edge on the end, "This one's a short hook. Usually you'll need this or the medium hook for these old fashioned pin and tumbler mechanisms."
He pressed that one in the lock above the tension wrench and asked with a roguish grin, "Want to give it a try?"
She leaned near him and gripped the picks. He ran his much larger hands over her smaller delicate one sgrasping them and looked over her shoulder. His breath tickled her ear as he moved with her, making the motions to press the pins inside the lock. It was amazing how he could make something as technical as lock picking into a flirtatious affair.
He pressed even closer to her then, getting distracted as his lips and tongue found their way across the tip of her ear and traveled slowly and sensually down to her earlobe before moving even farther down into the nape of her neck, where he started biting and nipping tenderly at her skin making her moan loudly.
She leaned into him, letting him do as he liked, forgetting the task at hand entirely as he shifted the sleeve of her dress down her arm and continued his tender nibbling and sucking of her skin, moving his way over her shoulder and back up her neck again. He took the opportunity to reach a hand around her chest and massaged her breast through the fabric of her clothes.
She felt her face flush red and gasped with another sharp nip, mumbling, "How do you do that?"
"Hm?" He murmured as he continued his attack with his lips, teeth and tongue to her neck and his hand still groping at her chest.
"Make something like this so," she took another sharp breath as he bit her softly and moaned,"…so sexy?"
She felt his mouth curve into a grin along her skin as he pressed his lips to her ear and whispered, "Wasn't trying love… just saw something I wanted and took it. Your beautiful, soft skin, the tip of your lovely pointed ear. I wanted a taste so I made my move. I didn't think you'd mind of course and considering how loudly you're moaning I'd say I was right about that."
Then he took his hand from hers and moved it up behind her head, curling his fingers through her hair and turned her face to his. He hovered very close to her and said, "I just want to make you feel good, Rona."
He pressed himself up against her rear so she could feel his hardness through their clothes. She released one of the picks, leaving it still sticking out of the lock and reached back, pressing her hand to his firm bulge and moved in to kiss him. He caught her lips with his, using the hand he had coiled in her hair to deepen their lip-lock while she groped and rubbed him through his clothes and he continued to do the same with the hand to her breast.
He groaned under her mouth and pulled away and said, "Damn woman, we need to get this door open and fast. There are so many things I want to do to you."
She moved out of the way, letting him finish picking the lock so they could move along a little faster than her skills would allow. The door clicked and he peered inside, looking around for a minute and said in a hushed voice, "I think we're good. Doesn't seem to be anyone here. Probably won't be 'til morning too."
They both slipped in, shutting and locking the door behind them. She followed him up the spiraling stone stairs several floors high until they came to an open space at the top of the lighthouse. There was a low wall lining the landing above, several pillars jut up in four even points from the rounded walls and held a tall roof above them, providing some cover. In the center of the platform was what can only be described as a giant raised up hearth or sconce with stacks of thick, tall logs piled onto it that were ablaze with a roaring fire. It was quite large to them, but would be a tiny beacon of light to guide ships far off in the distant seas as they made their passage to Solitude.
Rona welcomed the fiery warmth. Now that she had breath of fire and a real handle on her flames spells she didn't fear fire like she once did as a young girl who was trying fruitlessly to carve her path as a mage. She held her hands to the blazing inferno and then turned her palms back to herself. She summoned the fire from within and it burned from her hands a golden color. Bishop stood by her side watching as she held these sparkling, gold flames in her hands and said, "How do you make it that color? It looks like paper gold the way it shimmers like that."
"I don't know," she said, "Eira has white fire. Maybe her dragon soul is white," she turned and looked up at him, "When Potema tried to take my body... I saw inside myself. A great golden dragon fought by my side... but then I became the dragon. I think that was my soul. I woke it up and now my fire matches my soul."
He reached a hand out, placing it above hers, near the tip of the dancing flame. "It's warm, but... pleasant." Then he was bold enough to reach in and grasp her burning hand, allowing the flames to touch him, unafraid. "Huh," he smiled, "Doesn't even hurt."
"It's so strange," she said, "I'm a better mage now than I ever was. I have more control over it. I can even keep you from being burned by just willing it to do what I want."
"You're getting stronger," he said turning and looking into her eyes, "We'll find more Words of Power, finish your training. We'll find the Elder Scroll you need and then..." he looked somewhat upset suddenly, knitting his brows together and looking beyond her, as though he were realizing what was meant to happen at the end of her journey.
She would have to face Alduin, the beast of Oblivion whose ultimate goal was to see her wiped from the face of Nirn so that he might establish his cruel kingdom over mortalkind once more.
Bishop stepped closer to her and pulled her into a tight embrace, burying his face in her hair and just held her for a moment. She released the golden fire from her hands and wrapped her arms around him, trying to give him some comfort. She wanted to assure him she'd be okay, but even she didn't know what would happen in the end.
"I'll find a way to keep you safe," he choked, stifling whatever sudden sadness he was feeling at this awful reality.
She pressed her ear close to his chest and just listened to his heartbeat. She wanted to protect him too, to always keep his heart beating.
Then he asked her a question that she didn't quite know how to answer, "When it's all over... what will you do then?"
She pulled back from him and looked up into his handsome amber eyes, the roaring fire made them glow that much more. "I... I don't know. I never thought about it before."
He smiled warmly at her, "Well, let's think about it now. What do you want to do when you don't have to be the Dragonborn anymore, Rona?"
She blinked. The very notion of that idea - not being the Dragonborn - was beyond her imagination. She'd become so entrenched in her new identity, so swept up by the forces around her pushing her onward, guiding her along that path, that to think she might step off of it... to just be a normal person again, it was odd.
"If I could go back, to when we first met," she said, "To being that woman again... someone who was just happy to find adventure and spend time with her friends and her father. I wouldn't mind having that again. No fancy titles, no crazy voice, no more dragons or ghosts of the past chasing me around in my dreams," she scoffed, "and when I'm awake!
She smiled and laughed, "I'd be happy being who I was before. Someone who struggled to pay the rent on her attic space, who always overslept on the day of a big mission and got hit in the face with pillows for it. I want to go back to chasing off the idiot suitors that came calling time and time again, to be the woman who spent her nights with her girlfriends, singing at the local tavern and getting drunk on wine and gossiping about the charming and boorish men in town. I want to remember what it feels like when nobody knows who the hell I am! I just want to be," she paused to breathe as her face fell, "human again."
She hadn't realized she was crying until a chill wind swept by cooling the tears on her face. Bishop was smiling softly at her and gently leaned in, kissing the cold tears from her cheeks as he held her in his arms still.
His face was very close to hers and she watched as his dark lashes beat over his golden eyes as he asked her, "And where might I fit into these plans of yours?"
(Recommended song Fly by MattiaCupelli)
"Come with me," she whispered, "To Cyrodiil... stay with me."
"I will," he said and kissed her deeply again. She returned his passion with her own, allowing herself to burn up in the flames of lust, desire and love for him. He took his time kissing her, holding her closely before his hands roamed along to her hips as he ran his thumbs in small circles against her pelvis before he picked her right up by her waist and leaned back, holding her against his chest while they continued to pull at each other's lips and tangle their tongues desperately. He slowly stepped over to the side wall, facing the roaring ocean and set her down, so she was sitting on the edge.
Still he would not give up the attack on her mouth as his hand traveled down her hip and over her thigh. He gripped her there, feeling the way her soft skin felt against his fingertips and moved on again, caressing her inner thigh under her dress. He pressed his other hand to her back, holding her as he slid his fingers down the top of her panties, searching for her aching need. He touched against her swollen nub making her gasp beneath him.
He grinned and moved the focus of his lips down her neck again while his fingers traced around her pleasure center, teasing her endlessly before he pressed harder, the way she loved it, the way she'd do it herself. He was so good, so attentive to her needs and what she loved. He always wanted to make her feel good and he did, exceeding her expectations at every turn.
He sighed deeply against her neck as she moaned loudly for him, "Bishop, it feels so good, ah! Yes!" She leaned more into him, wrapping her arms around his back, digging her nails into his leather cuirass, trying to pull him closer as he gave her electrifying jolts with each new pass over the spot between her legs and then his fingers slid further down, touching against the wetness of her opening, making her tunnel yawn open with need. He touched her there, stroking against her folds, spreading her essence all around, making her wetter for him, so that she could accept his manhood easily within.
"Does that feel good?" His voice was deep and sensual, yet electrifying to hear.
"Yeees," she moaned.
"And this?" He spread her open then, sliding two thick fingers inside her, touching her tightening walls inside and started searching for her sweet spot within. He found it quickly, pressing hard against it.
She breathed, "Yes, there!"
He leaned back, still holding onto her with one hand and digging into her with the other while he looked over her face, enjoying the pleasured expressions she gave him for touching her so intimately. He held a look of deep longing all his own though and it made her drip even more because she wanted him so much.
She gripped his arms, trying to draw him closer to her and said with her brows knit tightly together and her face flushed deeply red, "I need you inside me Bishop."
He took a sharp breath of excited anticipation and withdrew his fingers from her and quickly started undoing the belt on his trousers. In a second he yanked them open, partially pulling them down to reveal his thick erection. She tugged on her panties, pulling them down her legs and kicked them off to the side.
He grasped her hips again and pulled her towards the edge of the wall, closer to him. She hiked her dress up around her waist and spread her legs apart, opening for him as he moved even closer and she felt his cockhead rub hard against her slit. That feeling alone was enough to drive her wild. She grasped his shoulders again, pulling herself closer and felt him pressing partially into her opening and then Bishop couldn't wait a moment longer and plunged himself into her warm depths and let out a very sexy, quivering groan of pleasure all his own. She moaned deeply from the feeling of him filling her all the way.
She looked into his face, enjoying watching his eyes roll just from feeling their most intimate parts joining. He took a moment, as he adjusted to her tightness and she adjusted to his girth before he started that wonderful steady roll of his hips against hers. Slow and steady, he set the pace for some quiet and pleasured moans from the both of them. Each stroke within gave her a shudder of delight, her face flushed deeply red from her racing pulse. Even his face burned slightly, as he panted with eager need to fill her over and over again.
Soon he was leaning into her, holding her back with one hand and gripping the edge of the wall with the other as he started to thrust more sharply, grunting with each deep pump into her massaging tunnel. She let go quick cries every time he hit bottom, pressing hard against the entrance to her womb. He filled her out so completely, it felt too good.
She wanted to be even closer though, and touched his face, saying, "More! Thrust into me harder!"
"Wrap your legs around me," he said quickly. She did, locking her legs to him as he grasped her waist and lifted her. She threw her arms up around his neck, holding on and feeling herself sliding heavily onto his throbbing member with the change in gravity. He carefully stepped over to one of the pillars, pressing her back to it, giving him leverage and began to pound into her much harder, taking long, deep strokes within, making sure to bottom out every time. Feeling him press all the way in, sometimes it was painful, but when she was so aroused it became more pleasure than pain and her desire to accept him even further there was overwhelming.
She clung desperately to his neck and looked into his face as his brows knit together, making that erotic, sexy face he did when he was enjoying her body so much. She couldn't help but tease him the way he did with her asking, "Does it feel good?"
He groaned heavily and breathed, "Too good, Rona, I'm getting close."
This always set her off too, just hearing him say such things made her insides quiver and convulse more rapidly, trying to milk him and set him off within. It was almost involuntary the way her body made to drink him dry. He let out a string of pleasured groans feeling her do this to him, suckling tightly at his member, purposefully pulling and drawing at his manhood. He grunted, "Gods woman, you trying to make come? Whenever you do that - ugh!" His head fell back as he tried to resist the eager urge to climax.
She wouldn't let up though, the fact that she pleasured him so deeply aroused her so much more. His thrusts became sharp and needful and with the perfect push of her swollen nub against his abdomen and the way the ridge of his thrusting cockhead pound right against that sweet spot inside her she felt her own climax happening, insistently so. She felt that electrifying jolt of pleasure surging from her nethers through the entirety of her body and her insides gripped him so tightly that he couldn't stop himself either as he groaned deeply, "Yes! Come all over my cock! I'm - Uunnngg!"
He grit his teeth and grunted, pushing his body against hers and taking a final thrust, deep inside. She felt the surge of warmth bursting within as he released. It was the best feeling for her. To be able to have and keep part of him inside her like that. It was so private and intimate. Something only they shared.
They both took deep breaths, sweating from their efforts and from the roaring fire nearby. Bishop let her down and they both fixed their clothes, him stuffing himself back into his trousers and she drying herself with an old cloth and pulling her panties back on.
He grasped her shoulders then, turning her towards him and looked into her face and said, "Do you know how much I love you?"
"Tell me," she smiled sweetly.
"I'd die for you," he said, knitting his brows together, "I hope you know that."
She didn't know what to say. Of course she knew that. He'd thrown himself in front of dragons more than once, thrown himself right onto Alduin's face even, for her. She looked into his eyes and said, "I know."
They stepped over to the edge of the wall facing the ocean, both leaning against it and looking out at the moon as it slowly rose over the curling tides in the distance.
He wrapped his arm to her shoulder and she leaned into his side. Then Rona reached into the pouch on her dress and pulled out her mother's urn. She set it on top of the wall. He looked over at it and said, "Is that?"
"My mother's ashes," she confirmed, "It's been a while since I spread any... haven't come across too many places I really like, until now," she pulled the small lid off and poured half of what was left into her palm. She let them scatter as the wind carried them across the ocean.
"Can't believe you've held onto them for so long."
"Yeah... after our meeting with Sheogorath I seriously considered just dumping the whole thing in a cave somewhere, but... I don't know," she sighed, pressing the lid back onto the small, round urn and stuffed it back into her pouch. There was just enough for one more spreading.
"You still care about her huh? After all she did?"
"Yeah," she said, "I do."
They were quiet for some time, just watching the tide drawing in and out as the moon glistened and shimmered over the rolling waves.
Finally he said, "I've been thinking of it for a while now."
"Thinking of what?"
"Well... we've been traveling together for some time now," he said, glancing down at her.
She looked up at him, "Yeah... it'll be a year in a few months."
"Long time," he said and smirked, "So it's no surprise you've been able to get under my skin deep enough for me to start actually caring about you."
She laughed and nudged him in the ribs, "Oh have I now?"
He chuckled and said sarcastically, "Completely, my dear. If I didn't know any better I'd say I might even love you," he sighed with a smile, running his free hand through his hair, "I honestly never thought I'd ever find love. Figured I'd just spend the rest of my days a lonely tracker, living off the land with Karnwyr. But then you came along and... boy did you come along! Feisty little elf you are."
She laughed, "Yeah I remember that. You know, you were really rude to me!"
"Heh... yeah, that was my biggest mistake I think. Almost letting you get away."
"Hmm," she smiled, "And I almost chased you away a few times."
"But I always came back," he grinned and sighed again, "I'm just saying... you probably know me better than anyone still living. And," he paused, turning and grasping her hands gently into his, "I want you in my life Rona, not just like a traveling companion or a pretty face warming my bedroll on a cold night - I want you to be my life. I want you to be mine."
She closed the distance between them and wrapped her arms around his back, looking up into his eyes, "I've been yours since you told me you loved me Bishop. I'll always be yours, if you'll always be mine."
He smiled, his eyes full of affection and love. They made to kiss again when they heard some voices over the landing. They both made a face like they'd been caught breaking and entering, which is exactly what they were doing. Then they heard the door down below swing and creak open and Rona held a finger to her lips and cast invisibility over the both of them, cloaking them.
In less than a minute four people came up the stairs. Three brutish looking men dressed in leather armor and one curvy woman with long brown hair and a tan tunic and dark trousers approached the roaring lighthouse fire, carrying heavy basins of water with them.
"Now, you two, git on that side and you sweet thing, can join me right here," one of the bandits said directing them all and motioning with his head for the woman to join him.
Freya scowled at the bandit who was attempting to make a move on her. She cocked her head, half-lidded eyes and said sarcastically, "That's alright hot stuff, I'll just get this side." She took several steps away from him on the other side of the fire.
The four of them took positions and Bishop and Rona both leaned back as the two bandits coming around to their side got a little too close for comfort.
They all held their wash basins up and the one giving orders said, "On mah count. One... two... free!"
They all dumped their basins over the fire putting it out completely, leaving it steaming.
"Now, we wait," he said, turning to head back down the stairs. The four of them left and not a minute too soon because Rona's invisibility spell wore off.
Rona looked up at Bishop whose face was etched with lines of pure disgust and anger as he stared at the top of the spiraling staircase where Freya had left with the other bandits.
He grit and ground his teeth, "Not even a fucking day and she's already..."
"We have to light the fire," Rona said looking it over. The logs were so soaked in water though that she wasn't sure it would ignite again. They heard the voices down below and Rona ran over to look down at the water where the three men were pushing a small boat into the ocean. They all got in and the one who gave orders started patting the seat beside him while he stared at Freya who looked on with her arms crossed. Finally she relented and climbed into the boat with him, even letting him put an arm around her waist, though she turned her head away and kept her arms crossed over.
They started rowing away, across the mouth of the river, heading east to the other coast. Bishop stood by Rona watching them go too.
"Where are they going?" She asked and looked at him, "Why'd they put out the fire?"
Bishop scowled deeply, keeping his eyes trained on the boat as it moved across the water, "She's working a job."
"A job?" Rona inquired, "Bit late for that, isn't it?"
He shook his head and sighed, "Not for this kind of job," he pointed out at the far coast where they saw a huge ship heading straight for the mainland, looking to crash into it in fact. Rona's eyes widened and turned back to the wood pile and shouted, "YOL!" Her breath of fire licked the wood, but only made it smolder. She cried again, "YOL TOOR SHUL!"
Still nothing. The wood was far too wet to ignite. Then they heard it, the loud creaking and cracking sound of the ship hitting ground as it collided with the rocks ahead.
"It was too late," Bishop said, "Even if you ignited it they were already going to crash."
"We have to do something!" She cried.
He looked back at her, brows knit together and nodded, "Try not to kill her. She'll be stupid, she'll pick a fight, I can guarantee it, Lightfoot. But just do me this one favor and don't kill her."
She touched his arm, "Bishop, I would never do that. I have nothing against Freya. Your past with her is just that, your past."
He twisted his mouth and said, "You're a better person than me. If I were you, I'd want her dead."
She just shook her head and grabbed his arm saying, "Come on. We're going water walking."
They hurried down the lighthouse and approached the coast. Bishop looked at her apprehensively as she knelt down, holding her hands out to his boots and cast a spell over them. She did the same with her own and stood back up and said, "Don't trip and fall in or it'll break the spell."
She stepped out onto the water and he just stared at her. She held a hand out, smirking, "Come on fraidy cat! It's just a little water."
He gave an unsure groan and stepped forward grasping her hand. His feet touched the surface of the water as though it were solid. "This is too weird - whoa!," a small wave curled under his boots, nearly throwing him off balance. He held his arms out steadying himself.
"Watch out for the waves," she said, "Think of it as a moving floor."
"Good thing I know how to swim or this would be a hell of a lot more terrifying," he said. A few more steps in and he seemed to get the hang of it.
Rona kicked off and started running for the wreckage and he called, "No, that's fine! I'll just catch up later!"
She turned back, easily hopping over the waves as they rolled along and shouted, "Come on! We have to go!" She skipped over another wave, turning again, focusing her attention on the ship in the distance that was clearly under attack by the bandits as she saw spells being cast and heard the sound of weapons clanging and the yells of the crew and their attackers.
"SU GRAH DUN!" She kicked off faster now, racing to help them. As she got closer the enemy attackers started lobbing arrows in her directing, having heard her very loud shout. She drew her blades and got low, sprinting faster than ever, easily evading the arrows and hopping over waves.
The ship was very near and she needed to get up it easier. She started a slew of somersaults across the water, giving herself more and more leverage with each one and when she was positioned correctly in the air, her face looking at the waters below, she shouted, "WULD NAH KEST!" Shunting herself further through the air and allowing her to land right onto the deck above.
She didn't get any time to take in her surroundings as the enemy was immediately on her. An argonian woman was slashing at her with a sword which Rona quickly blocked with her blades.
The argonian hissed loudly, "The damned Dragonborn!? You led her right to us you idiots!"
Rona smirked at her and started fighting back more fiercely, throwing her back when their blades met again and she shouted, "YOL!" Blasting flames at the argonian woman. She howled in pain as the fire caught her free arm and she fell back, retreating away. Then there were two mages on her and Rona roared, "FEIM ZII GRON!"
Her body became transparent and all their spells went right through her. She took a moment to look around and saw all of the bandits surrounding her while most of the crew lay dead or wounded. Then she saw Freya glaring furiously at her. She returned the glare with her own and said to them all, "Leave now. This ship and crew are under my protection."
The argonian woman was hesitant in her decision while she held her burned arm. As Rona's shout dispersed and her form began to solidify again she heard someone coming in to attack her from behind. She turned swiftly meeting her blade with the attacker's. Freya's sword met her own with a loud clang and she started in with a flurry of incredibly vicious attacks.
Rona continued to block them as she stared the angry nord woman down. Then the argonian seemed to make her decision when she shouted, "NOW! KILL HER!"
Bishop came up then firing an arrow straight into the argonian woman's head killing her. He started to swiftly pick off the other bandits as Freya kept her attacks on Rona up, pushing her further and further back across the ship. Rona said, "I don't want to fight you Freya."
Freya snarled back, "Well that's a damn shame because I want to kill you!"
Bishop finished picking off the bandits with his bow and ran in barking furiously, "FREYA! WHAT THE FUCK ARE YOU DOING!?"
"Killing the Dragonborn, obviously," she said snidely, her livid gaze still stuck on Rona as their blades scraped sharply against one another.
Rona shoved her off of her and then Freya lifted her blade over her head with both hands and made to come down from a hard upward swing when Bishop moved right in front of Rona and held a hand out, grabbing the edge of the blade with it, stopping her swing. Freya's furious gaze turned to one of anguish as Bishop held the blade, despite that it was obviously cutting into him as his blood quickly and softly plod onto the wood deck between them. She released the grip on her sword and stepped back.
Freya's eyes welled with tears of pain as she said, "You'd protect her?"
"I'd die for her," he said firmly. He held the most hateful gaze for the woman, letting her know exactly how he felt for her right then and there with his expression alone.
Freya's tears sprang forth, "But you wouldn't protect me!? Us!? You promised Bishop!" she sobbed, "You promised and then... you just left. How could you? How could you do that to me? How could you choose her?"
She turned and ran then, leaving them alone on the ship. Bishop let her go though. He had no desire to take up that chase. He was still gripping the edge of the sword and let it drop to the ground then. He clenched his fists and Rona went over and grasped his hand into hers, healing it with her magic. She looked into his face and he just looked sad.
"Go check on the crew, will you?" He told her quietly.
She nodded and went around healing the wounds of the injured crew members. After everyone up top was cared for they went down below and checked on the others inside. Everyone inside was still alive and well thankfully. The crew thanked her and Bishop for saving their lives and tried to reward them with gifts, which they both declined.
The two of them walked back to Solitude. Bishop was silent the entire way, carrying Freya's blade with him and just staring at it the whole time, deep in thought. Rona didn't know what had happened between them before but she knew whatever it was, it was really bothering him. From what she could gather, Bishop had promised to protect her, from Thorn she guessed. Now it was nagging at his conscience and she let him be. He'd talk when he was ready.
They returned to the Winking Skeever and found both Qetesh and Venus sitting quietly at the large table. Qetesh stood up when the two of them walked in and said anxiously, "Have you seen Freya?"
Bishop went right over to the table and set Freya's sword down on it, the edge still stained with his blood, "Caught her running a job for Jaree-Ra."
They looked at the sword and Venus held her hands to her mouth, "She's? Is she!?"
"She's fine," he said, "She ran off once we finished killing all her new bandit friends."
Qetesh sat back down and put her head in her hands as she leaned over the table, "Freya...Gods, why?"
"I'm going to go look for her," he said.
They glanced up at him and Qetesh said, "No, she's our sister, our burden-"
"She wants to talk to me," he said, "So, I'm going to talk to her. You two should get some sleep," he turned to Rona, "You too. I'll take care of this."
Rona looked up at him. She was concerned for him, but knew this was something he had to do alone and nodded, "Alright. Just be safe, okay?"
"I will," he leaned forward and gave her a quick kiss on the lips before stepping out the door.
Rona looked at the two sisters and asked, "Did she say anything to you two?"
"Nothing," Qetesh said, "Ever since she got back... she was just sulking the entire time. Wouldn't even celebrate with us over our newfound freedom. Then we all tucked in for the night and I saw her slip out."
Rona sat down at the table and asked them, "Why is Freya so... self-destructive?"
They knit their brows together and looked at other then back at her. Qetesh stared hard at the table then, a gaze she remembered Bishop held once when he told her some very terrible secrets about his past. Qetesh began her awful story from the day of the attack at Arcwind Point.
Bishop stepped outside the inn and looked around. He started to wonder just where he'd find Freya. He thought back to a time when he'd actually chosen to be in a relationship with the woman and all the times he'd pissed her off with his casual trysts with other women.
He only cheated on her because every other day she'd scream at him over something trivial and tell him it was over. Then he'd shack up with someone else in the group, and then naturally she'd hear about it the very next day because it was impossible to keep any secrets with all those busybodies around who had nothing better to do than to share the latest gossip. And Freya's and Bishop's relationship troubles were their favorite gossip.
Every time they fought she'd throw things and then go off and disappear for a while. He'd find her in the same place every time, high up on the platform, overlooking all the rats, courtesans, thieves and specialists coming and going from their cavernous hideout.
Bishop turned his gaze to the marketplace and looked up at the landing on the archway separating the two sections of the city. Rona had gone up there once to hide from her problems too, after they'd trekked through the Fane of Ustengrav and Casavir had blurted out Bishop's deepest darkest secret to her.
He'd seriously considered killing the Paladin right then and there, but stopped himself for her. Now the tables were turned and Rona had decidedly not killed Freya... though she didn't seem to hate Freya much either. He couldn't understand it himself. If he were in Rona's boots, he'd have shouted Freya off a cliff by now.
He noticed the outline of a person standing up on the landing. Bishop shook his head and made his way over to the turret connecting the bridge. Just what was it with women and needing to get up high when they were upset?
He climbed the stairs and crossed the landing, approaching her. She was leaning with her back to the wall, her arms behind her back. She noticed him coming but turned her face away from him.
He stopped a short ways from her and crossed his arms, then said, "Alright. You want to talk. Go ahead and talk."
"Who said I want to talk?" Her voice cracked slightly. She'd been crying.
He rolled his eyes and sighed, "Why Freya? I just paid him off and then you ran off to go do a job for him?"
"You might have paid off my debts Bishop, but I still have to make money somehow. People don't just throw it at me like they do with your new girl."
"No. Don't lash out at her. This is between you and me. She's got nothing to do with it. So say your piece already. Let it out, hit me, scream at me, whatever. Do what you need to do so you can get past this shit already."
She just turned her head more, refusing to even look at him.
"Okay!" He shouted, "I left! I'm sorry! I'm sorry I fucking left! I'm sorry I broke my promises to you! I just lost my brother and I couldn't-"
She snapped her head back and glared at him through puffy red eyes and screamed, "YOU KILLED HIM! We were all there Bishop! We saw it happen!"
He grit his teeth and clenched his fists turning his gaze down, "You're right. I did. I killed my brother... and I couldn't handle it. Nothing mattered anymore and I just had to get out of there. Away from everything."
She just glowered at him more, scrunching her face incredulously at him, "Do you want to know what happened when you left Bishop? Do you want to know how Elska died?"
He met her gaze then, his heart pounding in his chest. He was afraid to know.
"When you left... fuck," she took a breath, "You ran off so damn fast, took a few things and Karnwyr and just vanished. And the few of us that actually survived the Paladin attack, that made it back... well that included Thorn. You fucking know that, don't you? He. Was. Livid. Bishop. He wanted you dead. But you weren't around. So you know who got a taste of his wrath instead? Us."
Bishop felt his body trembling suddenly.
There were tears swimming in her eyes, but they held there, unwilling to move. She continued, "They dragged all of us down to their lair, Bishop. Me, Venus, Qetesh, Ma and Bast," she choked out her youngest sister's name. She was trembling too, horribly so as the words came next, "He started raping Ma right in front of us Bishop. And then you know what he did next while we all screamed and begged for him to stop?"
He took a sharp breath, knitting his brows together, wanting so much not to hear it.
"He stuck his dagger in her belly and cut her open Bishop, then he started pulling her guts out... in front of my baby sister. In front of Bast! Then he just threw her to those other sick freaks and they did... so many... they did the worst things to her. She died in agony Bishop. She died screaming for you to save her. The nice man who'd promised to protect us. BUT YOU WEREN'T THERE!"
Bishop went pale, listening to this nightmare. He felt like he was going to be sick. But she went on. He didn't want there to be more. There couldn't be more. But there was. There was always more.
Freya started breathing sharply and held her arms, trying to stop her shaking, reliving the nightmare. "He was going to take Bast next. Demanded it. I told him to take me instead. So he did, Bishop," she clutched at her arms then and her tears finally fell. He felt lightheaded and turned away, but she ran right up to him, grabbing his arms and screamed into his face, "NO! YOU DON'T GET TO RUN! NOT THIS TIME! LOOK BISHOP! LOOK WHAT HE DID TO ME!"
She yanked her tunic up above her breasts revealing three horrific and large jagged scars. One arcing up her belly and rib cage and the other across her left breast and the third tracing her upper right chest. Old white scars that came from a dirty curved blade meant to torment, hurt and kill.
He exhaled slowly, looking them over, wanting them to vanish. Freya dropped her tunic back down, her tears steadily streaming from her eyes as she said, "Qetesh saved me. She lost it, she just went in fists flying, knocking out Lars, and Sten and getting those other assholes in the gut. She kicked Thorn so hard in his disgusting dick that he cried like a baby. She got us out of there, she carried me, bloody and broken Bishop," Freya sobbed, "And we had to leave Ma. We couldn't... she was..."
His lip trembled and he felt his own tears rising. Pained by it all. Thorn punished them because of him. It was his fault. If he'd kept his promise, if he'd stayed, at least got them out...
Freya whispered, "You said you love her... but did you ever love me?"
He knit his brows sharply together. He didn't know what to say. She grasped him around the neck suddenly and kissed him. He made no move. He couldn't, to throw her off now, it would just be more torture for her. He couldn't do that to her, not after everything she'd just told him. But he made no move to meet her kiss, no move to deepen it further. He just held still and waited.
Finally she pulled back and looked at him sadly. "I loved you," she whispered through a short sob. Then she let go and walked away from him. She went back to the inn alone.
Bishop just stood there. Frozen. It was too much to process. He felt sick with guilt.
Rona felt cold. Qetesh's story, the tale of what happened to them, their mother and their oldest sister was absolutely horrifying and heart-wrenching. She suddenly had a new perspective on Freya. It explained so much.
The two women were silent. Venus wiped at her tears. She'd been crying nearly the whole time Qetesh talked.
Finally Rona choked out, "I want to help you all. You said you stay north to avoid Thorn right? I can help you. My ata, my father, he has connections in Cyrodiil. He can get you asylum out that way, get you new lives... the farm he stays at is in Falkreath, but... I have a house in Whiterun. You can all stay there and work with the Companions while he gets into contact with his connections."
Qetesh looked stunned, "You'd really do that for us?"
"Yes," Rona said firmly, "I want to do this for you."
The two sisters looked to one another as if their prayers had been answered and Qetesh looked back to Rona and nodded, "Yeah. We'll take you up on that offer. Anything to get out of the business of banditry... to get away from this hellhole."
Rona gave a weak smile and stood, "Alright. We leave tomorrow. We'll go to Whiterun first and get you all set up there."
The other two stood and Qetesh went in and hugged Rona and just said, "Thank you."
Venus grasped her hands too and said, "We owe you our lives."
"Please, don't worry about it," Rona assured them.
They said goodnight to one another and Rona went upstairs to her shared bedroom with Bishop. She looked over the messy room and took a breath, thinking of all the awful things they just told her. Thorn had brutally raped and murdered their mother in front of them all... then he'd raped Freya and tried to kill her too.
She wanted nothing more than to see that awful man dead. Thinking of these terrible things made her feel rather ill and so she stepped over to the window to open it and get a breath of fresh air. She unlatched it and pushed the glass panes open and looked outward. The moon was full and bright in the sky and illuminated Bishop's and Freya's entwined figures so neatly against the backdrop of the night sky. She just stared, stunned, forcing herself to prove that what she was seeing was real.
When the strange image of them kissing would not fade, she took a step backward clasping her hands together and felt her stomach drop. Her heart hurt a lot, it felt like someone had stabbed it.