Chapter 76
Jillian of Heart Frost
Their lovemaking was hurried and eager. Bishop pulled her to the other side of a large boulder, facing out at the slowly dying sun, away from any potential onlookers who might come out from the temple doors.
Lips still locked, tongues exploring, he pushed her back to the smooth surface of the rock and ran his fingers down her already lowered dress top. His calloused hands roughly groped for her naked breast underneath her clothes, grasping, massaging and pulling at her budding nipple.
She grasped the folds of her dress and yanked them up, hiking them into a bundle around her waist while his other hand tugged quickly at her panties. In several quick motions her underwear was sent trailing down her legs, where she kicked them off, and his trousers came undone and he grasped himself sliding his fully erect manhood out. He lifted her leg with one hand, while still kneading her breast with the other. She felt the tip of his member sliding across her dripping folds, urgently seeking entry within.
She quickly grabbed his thickness, making him groan under her mouth and positioned him to her opening, pressing herself against him more, giving him the signal to go. In one swift thrust he was hilted within her making them both moan heavily against each other, but still unwilling to let their lips part.
As he started his heavy thrusting into her he managed to grasp her tongue with his lips and began sucking hard, refusing to let go. She gave in to it all, letting him set her senses on fire with the long strokes of his cock within her, pressing perfectly against the sweet spot inside and began taking a taste of his mouth while he held her tongue with his lips.
Finally, he released her from the desperate kiss and she took several breaths of air only to have each new breath come in short gasps as his thrusts sped up, pounding deep and hitting hard against her womb. It was as though they were made for one another, with her completely taking all of his hard length into her depths, and he filling her out and spreading her apart just right. They were a perfect fit.
He managed to yank the top of her dress down more over her shoulders, forcing it to rest in the middle of her body and unclasped her bra with the other. He pushed that down too and moved his attention from staring lustfully into her flushed and aroused face down to her chest. He took her breast in his mouth, sucking hard and tracing her nipple with his tongue while his free hand grasped the other, cupping and kneading it. She rolled her head back, moaning loudly at the feeling of having her chest touched so forcefully while he continued the quick thrust of his hips sheathing himself inside her over and over again.
She ran her fingers through his soft hair, pulling his face even closer to her tender breasts. He let the one in his mouth go so that he could rest his face there, enjoying the softness and the closeness of being so intimately connected to her. She felt his breath, hot against her chest and then his lips again as he started sucking and kissing at her soft skin, moving quickly back up her neck where he pressed his face into the crook, biting her sharply before running his tongue over the mark he left and pulled on it with his lips again, looking to leave traces of himself all along her body.
It was hot, heavy, fast and forceful. But soon she was aching frantically with arousal and needed to find release. She grasped his shoulder with one hand and reached between her legs with the other, feeling how wet she was and spread two of her fingers in a 'v' shape, allowing them to slide down the sides of her dripping folds and felt his cock withdrawing and entering her.
This new touch only made Bishop groan more needfully and he grasped her other leg in hand, lifting her off the ground and up higher where he could push himself even further inside her. She didn't think she could take anymore of him, but he always found a way, panting deeply and pressing ever onward, thrusting hard against the end of her convulsing tunnel.
He looked into her reddened face, with his own burning one and asked, "Do you like to feel my cock entering you, Sweetness?"
"Yes," she whimpered.
"You want to know just how much of me you can take, don't you?"
"Mmhm," she gave a pathetic, aroused whimper, nodding her head almost submissively so.
"Here, let me show you just how much of myself I bury inside your tight, wet hole," he groaned and slid himself out almost entirely again, so that the flared head of his cock rubbed between her fingers, before he thrust himself all the way inside, bottoming out. He started to do it over and over again, taking those long strokes of near withdrawal, allowing her to feel the tip of his prick penetrating her repeatedly. It made her so much wetter and so unbelievably aroused.
He pressed his face against the side of hers, so that his breath tickled her ear and he whispered, "You're tightening around me so much." She gave out a pathetic mewl of yearning at his words as she continued to feel him, thrusting in and out. Then he said, "I want you to touch yourself."
She eagerly complied, moving her fingers up to the swollen bundle of nerves right above where he continued to swiftly slide himself into. Touching herself there was pure ecstasy, on top of him purposely rubbing himself hard against the most sensitive part inside she couldn't help but cry out with pleasure.
"How does it feel?" He asked her as he started nibbling on her ear.
"Good, sooo good!" She moaned.
"Tell me how my cock feels."
She felt her eyes roll and murmured, "Hard... it's hard."
"Louder, so I can hear you, Rona. Tell me how fucking good it feels to have my cock inside you."
"The best!" She cried, "You're so hard, Bishop... and thick, it - it fills me up all the way! It's the best! It's too good!"
He pulled back from nibbling at her ear and was smiling as he looked over her face, so pleased with the reactions he elicited from her. She moved her fingers quickly, pressing herself just right, timing it with his hard thrusts, so that each massage over her nub sent the most pleasure through her entire being and made her womanhood convulse more rapidly around him.
"Mmm," Bishop moaned, "Love it when you tighten up like that... gets me so close. Tell me Rona, where do you want me to come?"
"Inside!" She begged, "Come inside me!" She always wanted it inside. Pumping her full, coming endlessly, it always felt so good. She couldn't explain why, it was just an indescribable desire, a deep carnal need.
"You love it, feeling me fill you?" She nodded quickly, gasping desperately. He leaned in so that his face was hovering above hers and she noticed a light redness burning over his cheeks and nose, "You know, yours wasn't the only first that night. You're the only woman I've ever come inside. You were my first for that," he breathed, closing his eyes and groaning as he felt her tighten more at his words, then he opened them again, looking right into her eyes and said, "I've been addicted to you ever since. You're the only woman I'll ever fuck again and the only one I'll empty myself into."
She let out a string of whimpering cries then, unable to form any kind of logical sentence as her senses were going wild and her head was fuzzy with pleasure as he buried himself into her over and over again. "Bishop! Bishop! I can't! Oh! Oh please! Yes! There! I - I - I'm!"
She felt herself peaking then and he groaned low, hot and heavy and said deeply, "Yes! Come with me Rona! Feel it! Take it all!"
He gave several final quick thrusts before burying himself as deep as possible, pressing his hips unbelievably close to hers. He let out a very loud and pleasured cry alongside hers as they crested the wave of their incredibly passionate and shared orgasm and she felt him releasing deep within. It was so hot inside her, completely sating that instinctive urge to breed with him. He must have felt the same because he sent wave after wave of his seed inside, shuddering and groaning all while he ejaculated everything he had right into her womb. She wrapped her legs around his waist tightly, holding on, not wanting to let go.
When it was over,they were left breathing heavily, utterly exhausted but unwilling to part. She liked to stay close to him after, keeping him sheathed within. Though her occasional aftershocks, when her muscles continued to tighten with her subsiding pleasure, often left him quickly withdrawing due to the sudden oversensitive feeling there. He sighed though, keeping himself there and just enjoying looking at her still blushing face.
"You're so fucking sexy," he said suddenly.
She laughed, catching her breath and asked, "What makes you say that?"
"Well we just had some amazing sex and I don't know. I think I want to do it again."
She smiled and said, "Give me another hour, I'm exhausted."
He chuckled and said, "That was pretty amazing though, wasn't it? Something about fucking outside like this... just really gets me going."
"It was all your dirty talk for me," she blushed again.
"It's not that hard to talk dirty, I got you to do it just now," he grinned at her, "You just say what you're feeling. Be honest with yourself and say the words. That's what I do." Then he laughed because her face turned crimson and he said, "What? Can't bring yourself to tell me all the naughty things you want to do to me?"
"It's just... so embarrassing," she mumbled.
"Yeah," he agreed, "but that's what makes it so pleasurable, Princess. Saying things you wouldn't normally say in every day conversation and besides, you'd only be saying it to me, so no need to feel shy about it. I love getting you to whimper and moan such sexy things to me and I'll never get tired of hearing how my cock makes you feel."
She pressed her burning face into her hands and he chuckled some more and finally let her down, unsheathing his limpness from her. He passed her a clean cloth to wipe at the mess between her legs and they both fixed their clothes.
They turned to look out at the steadily rising moon and he wrapped an arm around her shoulder, pulling her close.
She was looking up at the bright stars and said, "It's really beautiful up here."
"Yeah," he agreed, "The Reach has some incredible scenery and the sky is always beautiful at night. Usually stays pretty clear of clouds out this way too."
She looked up at him and said, "You really have been all over Skyrim, haven't you?"
"Sure have. After Jules passed I spent a year out in Morrowind, to just... collect myself you know?" He looked down at her, "Did some deep soul searching or whatever you want to call it. I spent an entire year asking myself who the hell I really was and if I wanted to continue being the man I was before. I decided that I was going to change. I wasn't going to let my past, my family or any of that define me anymore. That's when I found work in ranging working for the locals out that way. Hunted plenty of cliff racers, I'll tell you that much."
"When I finallygot sick of trudging through the ash and breathing it in no less - and don't get me wrong, Morrowind is gorgeous even with all that dirt everywhere - I just needed to come home. Skyrim is where I was born and it'll always be home to me. It's where I spent the best days of my life with my brother. I wanted to really see Skyrim in its entirety when I came back and so I started traveling all over, just me and Karnwyr."
Rona could hardly believe how forthright Bishop was being, sharing details of his past with her so casually. It warmed her heart and made her feel so close to him. He could be so beautiful sometimes without even realizing it.
"I want to show it to you Rona... take you all over to the best places out here in the Fatherland. To really see this place for once," he smiled at her, "When your journey's over, we'll go wherever you want first, Valenwood maybe? Do a little hunting?" he cocked a brow, smirking, then said, "But when we come back to Skyrim, let me show it to you, just you and me."
"I'd like that," she said hugging him tightly, "Very much."
But she wondered when that would be. It seemed that they'd hit a wall, Alduin's Wall in fact, and it was useless to her. There was nothing about the Elder Scrolls on it and everything seemed so hopeless now. She didn't know what to do anymore. Maybe it was a good time to start training more, she thought.
When they reentered the Temple they found Serlas, Delphine and Esbern seated at the large table in the center with piles and piles of papers, books, scrolls and documents all laid out. The room was a lot brighter too as they'd gone around and lit all the wall sconces, they'd even found some old chairs to put around the table. It was a little bit cozier but could still use some couches and soft blankets, Rona thought, looking around at all the hard stone everywhere.
Serlas and Esbern were poring over the books and pointing things out to each other as they came across different interesting facts or things that seemed pertinent to their quest. Karnwyr was laying next to Delphine's feet, steadily snoozing and Bishop looked back to the doors and then back at Delphine. He must have brought the wolf out with him and then she let him back in.
Delphine looked over at them and gave him a knowing wink. Rona just blushed furiously realizing she must have overheard them, quite possibly in the throes of passion. Then she waved a hand, motioning them over to her, "Come here you two, you won't believe all the documents we've found."
"Oh, I believe you," Bishop said snorting a laugh, "I can see it all over the table."
They went over to Delphine looking at everything and she grasped a thin raggedy book from a pile of other tomes and said, "This is very useful, Serlas found it."
Serlas stopped mid discussion with Esbern and looked up at the sound of his name and said, "Oh, velvyn, yes! You must read it! I think we may have found a solution to our problem!"
Delphine held the book out to her, pointing to the start of a paragraph. Rona took it from her and Delphine said grinning, "Go ahead and read it out loud."
Rona started reading, "The Temple of the Ancestor Moths is located within the alps of the Jerall Mountains, within the province of Cyrodiil. This area is the home of the Cult of the Ancestor Moth, whose sole purpose is to care for, and even read the Elder Scrolls."
Her heart leapt up, elated, thrilled.
"I don't know why I didn't think of it before," Serlas said, "The Moth Priests would know everything there is to know about the scrolls and would most certainly be hot on the trail of them. If anything they might even need some powerful warriors to go in search of the scrolls for them wherever they may have located them."
Rona beamed getting very excited at this new information, but even more so because, "We're going back to Cyrodiil?"
Serlas smiled widely, "Yes, I think it's high time we paid a visit home. Get away from all the bitter frost and ice. Oh! Speaking of, I forgot to mention, Illia gave me a very expected invitation that we received not too long ago."
"An invitation for what?" She asked.
Serlas shuffled around his robe pockets looking for something and after a minute of searching, shoving his hands in each pocket and occasionally setting aside a soul stone or a potion here and there, he finally pulled out a soft white envelope and held it out for her. She went around the table and took it from him, opening it and sliding out a very ornate card invitation. She opened it and a loose paper slipped out. It appeared to be two separate invitations. She read the card first.
Mr. and Mrs. Grolak Bashurn
request the honor of your presence
at the marriage of
Miss Roxlin LaRoues
to their son
Magrob Bashurn
Loredas, the sixth of Midyear
two hundred and two
at six o'clock in the evening
At the Statue of Mara in The Arboretum
Imperial City, Cyrodiil
She could hardly keep the grin from her face. Then she looked over the second sheet which read,
You have always been there, more than just a friend
You know who I am and everywhere I've been
We've hacked and slashed and laughed and cried
We've sang and danced and drank and sighed
As warriors we've fought together time and time again
You've had my back and I've had yours so let's pop some Champagne
No matter where life takes me, no matter where I roam
When I am with you friend, my heart feels right at home
So on my wedding day, I will need you more than ever
Please be my maid of honor now and my best friend forever.
Rona definitely could not stop smiling now. Roxlin had even managed to scribble a little picture of the two of them killing some goblins and she'd added plenty of red all over it, for blood effects. It was adorable and precious and she wanted so bad to see her. She wanted to see all of her friends. She felt her eyes brimming with tears she was so happy.
Bishop was looking at her worried and she gave a pathetic sob overwhelmed with emotions and wailed, "She drew a picture of us, Ataaa," then she hugged her father. He wrapped his arms around her and whispered, "There, there dear. It's a lovely drawing isn't it? Captured you two perfectly I think. Now I know things have been hard. But this is good news, isn't it?"
She pulled back from him, wiping at her tears and blubbering, "This is the best news I've had in forever. When can we go?"
He chuckled and said, "Well, we can leave as early as you like."
She wanted to go right then and there. She was ready to get the hell away from Skyrim, away from all the dragons and all the problems and just go be with her friends and do something normal for once, like be her best friend's maid of honor and celebrate with her!
"Let's see," Serlas said thoughtfully, "I believe we're still at the tail end of Rain's Hand."
"It's the twenty-sixth," Delphine said.
"Yes, so we have an entire month before the wedding, though I'm sure there's still much to be done, you'll need to be fitted for a dress and all those things. And I'm sure Miss LaRoues, soon to be Mrs. Bashurn, will want to celebrate her last day as an unmarried woman with an exuberant party."
"Let's go!" Rona said and turned right around and started looking for the exit. She hesitated at the sight of the tunnel that led back down to the forsworn. She wasn't entirely sure if she was still welcome among them after attacking Cael. Granted he attacked first, but she wouldn't be surprised if he'd told them all his own version of the events. Still he didn't seem like the type to hold a grudge. She was sure the man's sister would though.
Bishop looked over at her laughing, "Where are you going?" Then he turned to Serlas and said, "I take it her friends are having their wedding soon?"
"Yes, that is correct," Serlas confirmed, "It will be held in the Arboretum in the Imperial City. It's a very beautiful garden in one of the many districts and a highly sought after location for weddings, parties and other formal gatherings. People often have to make reservations a year in advance to hold their spot."
Bishop raised a brow, "Sounds expensive."
"Oh, indeed it is," he said, "However, both the Bashurn family and the LaRoues family are wealthy and prestigious and very well known in the Imperial City. Chances are they pulled some strings in their inner circles to reserve the Arboretum for the wedding and I have no doubt a marriage like this will be the talk of the city for quite some time."
Bishop looked even more skeptical, "The orc and the breton girl? Them? They're wealthy nobles?"
Serlas chuckled, "Yes, very much so. The Fighter's Guild in Cheydinhal is chock full of young people who come from prestigious stock."
Bishop looked over at Rona with half-lidded eyes. She blushed and protested, "I'm not a noble!"
Bishop laughed and said, "Suuure you're not," then he walked over and said, "Hey, lemme see that drawing of you."
She passed him the invitation and the cute poem Roxlin wrote for her. Bishop first looked at the picture and laughed, "Wow. Now that's impressive. It looks just like you! Big googly eyes and the crazy face and everything. The dragon horns, wings and tail are a nice touch. Now that's dedication to accuracy."
Rona looked at it again, she hadn't even noticed the dragon parts attached to her. She elbowed Bishop in the ribs for teasing her and snickered shaking her head at the silly, childish drawing. He nudged her back with his hip and smirked at her, then looked back over the poem and read it, snorting loudly again, "I had no idea this woman had such a way with words. 'We've hacked and slashed'... damn. Well if she's offering Champagne, I'm with you, let's get going."
Delphine said, "We've already sealed off the entrance down there so the forsworn won't be able to come through."
"How do we get out of here then?" Bishop asked, "Hope you're not expecting us to climb down this mountain."
Delphine scoffed at him, "No. We found a hidden entrance that leads right down to the base of the mountain. It's on the other side too, out of sight of Karthspire, thankfully. You shouldn't be trying to hurry off this late at night though."
Serlas chuckled and said, "Yes, let's spend the night here and we will make our trip back to the farm tomorrow. I will make preparations for our stop up in the Jerall Mountains where we will meet with the Moth Priests. I'm hoping that they will hold an audience with the Dragonborn without prior notice. We'll stop there first, since it's on our way near Bruma and then after that, perhaps you'd like to stop by Cheydinhal dear? Visit with the Guild for a week before we make our way to the Imperial City?"
"It sounds perfect!" Rona started leaping up, just elated by all this great news. Bishop smirked at her, looking very happy himself. She knew it was because she was smiling again, feeling excited about everything and he was probably just as happy about the prospect of getting away from the dragons for a while too.
They spent the night there then. Bishop and Rona went down the winding and hidden stairway through the mountain to check on their horses and get some food from their supplies for the night. They ended up bringing the steeds closer to the hidden entrance and went back up.
Bishop fixed everyone an easy meal, while Serlas and Rona went about tearing off the old dusty sheets from the beds and thoroughly washing them with their magic. Serlas was more experienced in creating water from nothing and tried to demonstrate for her, explaining it was just ice before being melted down through a combination of fire and ice magic. She only managed to cast several shards of ice and ruined a pair of sheets with puncture marks before she gave up and stuck to just drying them. They fixed the beds, sat down for dinner and held light conversation through the evening.
Esbern finally found a moment to give her the giant tome, The Maiden of Dragon Flame. "I hope you will take it with you and read through it. It is the history of your ancestors you know. Though many of Eira's lines branched off and died out, the line from which you came managed to carry on all these years. I have a feeling that Jillian may have been your direct ancestor."
"What makes you say that?" She asked him.
"She had a daughter named Rona, named for her lover Ronin. The name was passed on for generations. Were you named for anyone in particular?"
Serlas chuckled and said, "She was named for Rona Benanius of Chorral. She was a maid servant in Castle Chorral in Cyrodiil before returning to Skyrim to join the Companions and fought during the Oblivion Crisis."
Bishop snorted at the sound of Rona's middle name, even Delphine snickered a little.
"Oh stop!" Rona chided them and pursed her lips pouting.
Serlas smiled, "Yes, I wished to change it, but Claudia was very dead set on keeping the name as is. She absolutely worshipped the woman and everything she stood for. Ah well, it was always fun calling out to her in the Mage's Guild between classes and using her full name in front of all her friends."
Rona turned beet red and blustered, "Ata! That was so mean!"
Everyone broke into laughter and Bishop said, "Benanius, what a name!"
"Keep that up and I'll tell everyone your middle name!" She teased with a smirk.
He stopped laughing and said, "You wouldn't dare."
Delphine blurted out, "Laurence!"
Bishop's twisted to look right at her, "How!?"
"You spent a lot of coin in my tavern over the years Bishop," she grinned at him,"It wasn't even the first time you told me that story, Florence." Rona fell into a fit of giggles and everyone shared in a laugh and Bishop even cracked a smile after a minute.
Finally, Rona asked, "Ata, what name would you have given me?"
He smiled warmly at her, "Well, I only chose a different middle name, because I quite like your first name dear. But I wanted you to be Rona Rielle."
"Aw, the word for beautiful? Really? That's pretty," she said, returning his smile.
"I always thought so."
They finished up their suppers and as Rona picked up the tome and headed off to bed Esbern said, "You'll let me know if my translations were accurate, I hope."
She nodded, "Of course." She looked over the massive text in her arms and felt a bit overwhelmed by it. It was a lot of history to read through and she wished her father knew dragon's tongue because it'd be much easier to give it to him and have him read it. Serlas was always good at absorbing voluminous books like that.
But if they were going to be traveling through Cyrodiil she figured she might as well give it a read on the way. She wondered most about Jillian. She was the first Dragonborn she ever met and the woman had been plaguing her dreams and haunting her footsteps for nearly her entire journey. Then she asked Esbern, "You called her Jillian of Heart Frost. I'd never heard that name for her until you mentioned it. Why did she have that name?"
Esbern sighed, "It's quite tragic. I'm sure you already know her lover, Ronin, was killed by Alduin himself." She nodded affirmatively.
"Well... after Jillian lost the man she loved to Alduin, she set forth on a path of vengeance, one that tore her apart and made her quite cruel and cold hearted. She worked for years with the Blades seeking out and killing every last dragon she could find. By the end of it all, she was a very bitter and hateful old woman. Legends say she was killed by a dragon in her old age, though it is unknown which one did the deed. I am sure this book tells us, however I was unable to decipher much of her story. The language became so different by then. Anyhow, there you have it, Jillian of Heart Frost, a woman whose heart was turned as cold as ice at the loss of her beloved."
Rona looked over the book again, flicking her finger against one of the ripped pieces on the cover thoughtfully. She would start with Jillian's story. It was the most similar to her own and she believed that Jillian held secrets that might help her defeat Alduin.
Serlas, Esbern and Delphine took beds in a separate room and bid Bishop and Rona a good night. And as Rona laid down to sleep, with Bishop taking the bed behind her, she pulled up the big book and rest it on her upraised knees.
Bishop looked over at her and mused, "Going to do a bit of light reading before bed, Ladyship?"
She grinned at him, "Just a bit."
"Well, try not to stay up too late," he leaned over and kissed her on the cheek and said,"Night," he pulled the fresh cleaned covers over himself and yawned loudly before stuffing his face in a pillow. Karnwyr of course came right over and started bothering him to move over. Bishop grumbled, "No, Karnwyr, there's no room. Go pick a bed over there."
Karnwyr whined and panted, hopping up to lick at his face. "Ugh, fine..." Bishop somehow managed to squeeze over to the side allowing his wolf brother to lay on the bed next to him. Rona giggled at the sight and said, "Aw, how sweet."
She reached over and scratched a happy Karnwyr on his head as he settled in. Bishop grumbled some more but it wasn't very long before she heard his light snoring. He complained but the man could easily sleep anywhere, squished between his wolf and her even, granted he preferred to be up right next to her, but she wasn't about to try and fit herself on that bed with the both of them.
She looked over his peacefully resting face for a moment. She still felt bad about before, with the endless flirting with Cael. Although she wasn't exactly flirting back, but she did allow it to continue, wanting to get under Bishop's skin a little. She could understand now why everyone was so afraid of the forsworn. The way Cael moved with such incredible speed, the force in which he brought his sword to Bishop's neck... but he hadn't gone through with it. Perhaps it was just a warning, but it was far too close for her comfort. She'd made the right decision then, to shout him down. She would always choose Bishop, every time. He was too important to her and definitely more important than some strange man she just met.
She sighed and opened the massive book up, ready to dive into it and see what secrets it held. There was a table of contents in the front of the book, also written in dragon's tongue. However, Esbern had already scribbled the translations of each section. They were the names of all of the Dragonborn women all the way up to Jillian. There had been at least thirty of them. That seemed about right, as there were at least a hundred or more men who had been Dragonborn.
Rona found Jillian's name at the very bottom of the list. Of course she'd be the last in there, she was the one who came before Rona. She flipped to the page where Jillian's name was scrawled out in dragon's tongue, very near the back of the book. Jillian Do Sil Fo, it read. Rona flipped over the next page and stared at the thin writing. It was definitely hard to read. She might have had the knowledge but even this hurt her brain to look at and she found herself mixing up words and struggling to understand the phrasing. It was much easier when she spoke it. Reading it though was a whole new challenge.
She rubbed at her eyes, trying to understand but it didn't make much sense. As she stared hard at the words though, they seemed to etch themselves deeper into the page, almost like they were glowing, like on a Word Wall. She felt drawn into them and heard a familiar chanting as her mind was slowly wiped away so that only one word entered her mind, over and over again, 'fo'.
Her throat felt cold then, like the word was chilling her insides. She was numb with cold and compelled to say it, no longer in control of her own mind it seemed. She let it go, "FO!"
The shout crashed into the book and covered the letters in a chilling frost, lighting them up in an icy blue color. She leaned forward, looking closely at the words as the pages flipped swiftly before her eyes and then she felt herself falling and falling.
An old woman trudged up the snowy mountain path. She was no ordinary woman 'd been hardened by years of battle and was covered in the scars that proved her fortitude. Her right arm was marked with the scar of a horrible burn and half her face was covered in dragon's slash. There'd been one slash which took her eye, but she'd chosen the gift to heal Dragon's Slash and so managed to remove the one on her eye, restoring her sight, leaving the other two permanently etched on her sharp lined face. Her long grey hair drifted in gentle wisps down to her waist and caught on the wind while her glinting great sword sparkled in the light of the sun.
She approached the monastery, it had been years since she'd visited. Banished by the Greybeards themselves after she helped the Blades and the Tongues invade the place so that they might reach the Throat of the World and banish Alduin from existence. She'd brought war and violence to that place, she'd directly offended Kyne.
And she was about to do it again.
She let herself into the monastery. The Greybeards never locked the doors. Why would they? No one ever visited that high on the mountain except to leave offerings or to come and train if they were a Tongue or the Dragonborn.
She swept into the foyer, all was silent and still, just as she remembered it. The Greybeards were surely around, sitting in quiet seclusion, meditating or perhaps outside, on their knees, worshipping Kynareth in all her glory.
It didn't matter though, she had one purpose for being there and intended to fulfill it. She'd be damned if she let them stop her now. She hurried up the steps and passed through the doors into the courtyard. Still no sign of any of them. Even the tower beyond was silent still. She continued on her path, steadily crossing the courtyard. As she approached the violent wind wall and made to shout it down she heard someone call at her back.
"Jillian," his voice was angry and distressed, but also incredibly old sounding.
She turned to face her old master. She looked at him with eyes full of disdain, for him and for everything he believed in. He was so much older now, she honestly couldn't believe he was still alive. He had to nearly be a hundred years old. He certainly looked it too, with his thin wrinkled face, only a few wisps of hair left on his head and age spots all over the top and sides of his head and a few on his cheeks. His hands had that extremely aged appearance too, bony but with the skin sagging between them and dark blue veins pressing through his paper thin skin. He was missing almost all of his teeth and his eyes seemed to be going as well seeing as they were quite clouded.
"Master Araidh," she replied tersely, but said nothing more. It was not a friendly greeting, it was only her acknowledging that she heard him.
"Why are you here?" He said, his voice growing severe.
"You know exactly why I'm here, to fulfill my destiny."
He breathed steadily, trying to keep himself calm, but she could hear the quaver in his voice, perhaps he was afraid or perhaps it was just his age. "You already fulfilled your destiny fifty years ago. Alduin is gone. You have no purpose here. Leave this sacred place."
"Will you try to stop me?" She asked him.
His shriveled lips parted slightly, revealing the mostly empty gums, "I admit... I cannot stop you, nor will I try. When I die, I wish to go in peace to Lady Kyne, not in violent death from the Dragonborn herself."
"Then I shall take my leave of you," she turned away from him.
He stopped her once more saying, "No... I cannot stop you, but she will. She will never let you kill him."
Jillian's eyes narrowed and her grey brows lowered sharply over them, "We shall see her try."
(The Song is Never Look Back by Evanescence)
She shouted the way open and moved up the path. It was not long before she heard a piano playing in the distance, traveling all the way down the mountain. She was already there, at the top. She would be. Jillian rarely felt much anymore, but she did feel angry and it was an impassioned loathing and rage, one she'd carried with her for her entire life. Because of that the ghosts of the others often appeared easily for her.
When she arrived at the peak of the mountain. She saw her there, the ghost of the woman who'd been following and tormenting her for her entire life, as always. Watching over the beast, protecting him. She was playing an enormous piano that looked as though it had been built into the Word Wall itself. She played swiftly, harshly, expressing her feelings and then the words came.
"Everything is so dark
And I know there's something wrong but I can't turn the light on
In that split second change when you knew we couldn't hold on
I realized I lived to love you
Save yourself, don't look back
Tearing us apart until it's all gone
The only world I've ever known sleeps beneath the waves
But I remember
I won't give up on you
I can feel you in my heart, just show me the way
I don't belong here
Alone
I can still see your face
Where it's burned into my mind I die every time
I close my eyes, you're always there
Save yourself, don't look back
Tearing us apart until it's all gone
The only world I've ever known sleeps beneath the waves
But I'm the one who's drowning without your love
I am lost and I can never go back home"
She sang for him because she loved him. Jillian could not remember the feeling. She could not empathize and she'd never understand what it meant to love a dragon because she'd always hated them. She'd almost killed them all, save for the one that escaped to Morrowind and... him...
Paarthurnax stood perched upon the Wall, looking on longingly at the fiery redhead below as she begged him to save himself and she cried for them and their broken love with her beautiful heart wrenching song.
Jillian felt no sympathy for her. She had none of that left. Only the bitter cold in her heart.
"All across the ocean
We are calling, calling
Are, are you there?
Nothing left for me 'til I find you because it's
All gone the only world I've ever known sleeps beneath the waves
But I'm the one who's drowning without your love
I am lost and I can never go back
I, I can never go back home."
Eira finished her song and the strange instrument in the Word Wall faded away. She turned back to Jillian, her bright green eyes meeting Jillian's cold blue.
"Don't," Eira begged, shaking her head, looking as though she might cry.
Jillian drew her greatsword and held it at the ready, "I must. He cannot live Eira. He must pay for his sins."
Paarthurnax did not once look at her. The grey dragon was old, feeble and tired and only had eyes for his beloved. It seemed he might have accepted his fate and only wished to love her for whatever time he had left that day.
Eira's expression changed from one of sorrow to one of fiery anger quickly and she drew her rapier from its sheath. She pled her case once more, "You did not defeat Alduin. You only sent him adrift on the winds of time. He will return someday and the new Dragonborn will need him, she will need to train."
"It matters not to me," Jillian replied, "The new Dragonborn will have to find her own way. Hopefully it will not be as painful an existence as mine has been..."
"You had your child, a piece of him," Eira argued, "But you pushed her away. You allowed your hatred to consume you and now she hates you too."
Eira was right. Rona did hate her. She'd been an awful mother, choosing vengeance over raising the girl every time. It wasn't fair, he should have been there with her. They should have raised their daughter together, but he was taken before she even knew she was pregnant. And her daughter had long since moved on, made her own family and found her own happiness. She hadn't seen Rona in twenty years, she wouldn't allow herself to tarnish her daughter's happiness with her bitter cold.
"I did allow it to consume me and now the world is nearly free of the dragon menace that once plagued it. You lived under them Eira, suffering... can you not say that what I did was right?"
"He has not harmed any humans in centuries. He gave us the gift of the Thu'um!"
"It does not matter," Jillian said, "I vowed to kill them all and so I shall."
It was time. She was ready... she'd spent ages writing this Song of Power. It belonged to her and she would use it to fulfill her vow, for him... for Ronin.
(The Song is Jillian - I'd Give My Heart by Within Temptation)
She raised her broadsword and ran in, making it fiercely clash with Eira's thin rapier and then their shouts came as the sound of her music crashed over the mountain.
"YOL TOOR SHUL!"
"FO KRAH DIIN!"
The two shouts smashed together, ice and fire, the power of the Thu'um of two fierce Dragonborn, The Maidens of Dragon Flame, the first and the last battling at the Throat of the World. It was a legend for the ages, a story made to be turned into a song.
Eira leapt through the crossfire, swinging swiftly, aiming for the ankles and the wrists, always going for the soft spots. She was a quick one.
Jillian was bigger than her, stronger, she used her strength and bulk to fight... but she was also older, so much older. Granted Eira was a ghost and she knew she'd never be able to kill a ghost. But she would cut her way through. She could stop her if she just got a good shout in. Eira was real enough at least, flesh and bone, thanks to Jillian's hateful passion, so she knew she could at the very least hurt her, however long it lasted.
She blocked each wild thrust from the rapier with her sword, making the two very opposite blades clang and clash as they danced through the snow and Jillian's ire and her voice grew more powerful.
She roared another, "FO KRAH DIIN!" blasting Eira off her feet. Paarthurnax roared, his wings flapping, but he made no other move. Eira stood again, clutching at her ribs where the ice had crashed against her and severely frostbitten her flesh.
"Does it feel real?" Jillian asked her, "When you come back like this?"
Eira snarled, "Why? Do you expect to die today? You want to know what feels like to be pulled from Sovngarde in order to aid the others?"
Jillian smirked at her, "I've always been curious."
Eira returned the nasty smile and said, "It feels like dying all over again."
"Then die again!" She roared, "IIZ SLEN NUS"
Eira tried to leap out of the way, but the shout hit her in the legs, freezing them over entirely and she cried out in pain. Still she was braver than someone living might have been when she roared fire over her own body, "YOL TOOR SHUL!" melting the ice. But Jillian had already run in, swinging, aiming for her head.
And then she was hit with a shout from above, "FUS ROH DAH!" she was thrown fiercely through the air and smashed up against the mountain hard. She felt her bones crack and definitely some of them broke, it felt like her ribs. She grit her teeth and groaned. She was not a young woman anymore. Seventy-eight years of age was definitely much too old to be trying to fight dragons.
Paarthurnax flew down, standing protectively in front of Eira. The red-headed woman cried, "[Paarthurnax no! I can die again and again but if she kills you, she will take your soul!]"
He looked down at her and spoke deeply, "[I cannot watch you be hurt my love. Spirit or not, it pains me so. If I am to die today... then so be it, for it pains me even more to be apart from you. It is eternal agony.]"
Eira clutch at his wing, looking up at him sadly.
He looked back at Jillian and said, "[Do what you must Dragonborn. Though I am afraid to say that killing me will not sate your thirst for vengeance... I understand your feelings. I too once felt them for her... when Alduin stole her from me.]"
Jillian pulled herself up, grasping her sword and shuddering with the pain her ribs. Good. At least he was making it easy. It was a habit though, shouting it, she wanted to keep him there.
"JOOR ZAH FRUL!"
Paarthurnax was bound by a blue light. He would be forced to stay, to be held. Because that is what Dragonrend did. It pulled them to the ground and chaining them there, making it that much easier to kill them.
She took a sharp breath as her song peaked and ran forward aiming for his throat, getting ready to slash it and rip it open, it would be swift and mostly painless... he deserved that much, the old beast. The one who taught her everything she knew, the dragon she'd once befriended so long ago.
Her sword sparkled in the light of the sun and she swung and then she stopped and felt it. She looked down at the fiery red-head, hateful tears in her bright green eyes, holding her rapier upward so that it pierced into Jillian's chest.
"I will see you in Sovngarde, Jillian," her body flickered as that which bound her to the mortal plane slowly started to die.
Jillian slumped into the snow, feeling the blood gushing swiftly. Eira had pierced her cold heart. She couldn't understand why the blood was so warm when she was so sure she'd been frozen inside. She fell on her side, still clutching her blade. She wanted to die with it, it had been her only friend for so long, her tool of vengeance.
She lay there, staining the snow with her blood and she smiled. Truly smiled with joy for the first time in so long. It was finally over. She didn't have to keep fighting. She hadn't killed them all but it didn't matter anymore. She could die and finally be free from the curse, free from the pain, free from it all. She prayed for whoever was to come next, she pleaded with Akatosh, "Don't let her suffer like I did... or I'll come find you and kill you too you damned bastard."
Her vision faded and Eira vanished entirely then. The last thing she ever saw was the face of a blasted dragon... but it was Paarthurnax and that was okay. He'd been the only good one and she found herself grateful that he was still alive.
Rona felt her vision returning as she slowly pulled free from what she just saw, there were muffled voices speaking around her, indistinguishable until she heard Delphine, "She's crying now."
"Hang on," Bishop said with worry etched in his voice. She saw the blurred outline of a hand snapping its fingers in front of her face and then he held it out flat, waving it up and down. "Rona, hey, you with me. Come on Sweetness, don't do this again, please," Bishop pleaded.
She started to shake her head and blinked trying to throw the fuzziness off and her father said, "She's coming to. Velvyn, are you alright, can you hear us?"
She looked over to see everyone standing at her bedside, including Karnwyr who was sitting on the ground next to her with his head on her leg.
"Uh," she uttered still very confused, "what just happened?"
Bishop looked relieved and said, "I could ask you the same thing. The hell was that? You just shouted at that book and then stared off into space for like five minutes. Scared the shit out of me."
She blinked, "It's only been a few minutes?"
"Yeah... why?" Bishop asked, crossing his arms.
"Why did you shout at the book?" Esbern asked her anxiously.
"I... because... I don't know," she mumbled. She wasn't entirely sure how to explain what just happened.
"That's alright velvyn, take your time," Serlas urged her, "Collect your thoughts."
She looked back at the book in her lap and carefully closed it. She really wasn't in the mood to go back to that place or see more of whatever the book had to offer. She pushed it aside on the bed and turned to face them all, kicking her feet off the bed as Karnwyr came around to hop up next to her and pressed his head back into her lap. He licked at her hand and she scratched him, grounding herself back in reality.
She took a breath and started to explain. She told them everything, what happened when she read the book and when she shouted and then everything that happened to Jillian.
They all listened intently especially Esbern, he had to hold himself back from bombarding her with questions. When she finished he finally said, "I see now. It makes sense. The book was made for the Dragonborn. Certainly a layman could read it, if they wanted, they could find the history within, but the words... they were made to be read like those on your Word Walls, to be taken within, to show you in literal context. You can see what actually happened."
She was very tired, as insane and interesting as it all was, she just wanted to sleep.
"I... I think I need to sleep," she said.
Serlas could see the exhaustion in her face and said, "Yes, we'll talk more of this tomorrow. Rona has had a very long day, fighting dragons and reading very unusual books."
"Hm... indeed, tomorrow then," Esbern conceded, "Before you take your leave we'll speak a bit more. Well then, goodnight Lady Rona."
Delphine put a hand to Rona's shoulder and asked, "You gonna be alright?"
Rona gave her a tired smile, "I'm fine really. Just sleepy."
Delphine nodded and bid her goodnight. Serlas gave her a quick hug and a kiss on the cheek before retiring as well.
Bishop crawled back into his bed and said, "Warn a guy next time you plan to shout at any books okay?" She got up suddenly and went around to his bed and crawled in with him. He smiled and said, "Yeah, you want to cram into this tiny bed with me, Sweetness?" He moved over and she wrapped her arms around him and buried her face in his bare chest. He ran a hand through her hair and said, "You alright, Rona?"
She shook her head and just held him. He sighed and pulled her closer, "It'll be okay. I'm here."
She couldn't stop seeing it, or hearing their voices, their songs. She'd sang that exact same song when she discovered she became Dragonborn. It seemed so long ago. That was Jillian's Song of Power, the one she'd tried to use to kill Paarthurnax. Rona didn't know how to feel about it all. She'd been so curious about the woman, but now she wanted to pull the knowledge back out of her head and put it back in that damn book.
She closed her eyes and started to nod off listening to Bishop's quiet snoring in her ear. He gave her so much comfort. They'd be going to Cyrodiil soon too. She tried to look forward to that. Things were going to be okay.
"Joor zah frul," she whispered. But she didn't have the knowledge of that. If she did it would have made everything she saw worth it.
Their trip back to the farm was quite uneventful, which was always good in their opinion. Delphine stayed behind with Esbern, talking about how she wanted to reform the Blades but first they'd need to get the Temple back in working order and go out to try and recruit. She said someday, hopefully soon, they'd have a powerful team of dragon slayers that could help Rona on her journey. She didn't speak with Esbern too much about the book, but he made her take it with her, encouraging her to continue seeking out the mysteries within, no doubt he just wanted her to relay everything she saw to him.
The three of them wished Delphine and Esbern well and promised to return as soon as they found out anything more on the Elder Scrolls. Delphine said she'd stop by the farm every now and again to check up on them as well, or she'd send word with a courier about anything they learned.
It felt good to be back on the farm. It was quiet, peaceful and Illia had done such an amazing job of making it so beautiful. But even then Rona was anxious to get moving again, already wanting to run off to Cyrodiil and see everyone.
Serlas of course said, "Have patience velvyn! We still need to properly equip ourselves for the journey. The Jerall Mountains are a force to be reckoned with and the Temple is quite deep in them. We will stay here for a week and rest as well. And I don't know about you, but this old man needs some time to recover after all the adventures we've had."
She relented and calmed herself down. Bishop suggested, "You should try practicing your shouts. You've finally got the time Ladyship."
So she did. She spent half of the week there training out in the garden or by the lake, under Bishop's watchful eye. Still as wary as ever about Thorn. But she had a feeling he'd left the area. Helgen had been completely vacant of any bandits for a long while and they hadn't had any problems with unwanted visitors trying to pass through the blood seal. But they continued to treat her like she couldn't take care of herself, like she wasn't the all powerful Dragonborn and it was getting frustrating.
Serlas and Illia had gone out to Whiterun to get some ingredients and potions that Falkreath did not offer. They were due back that evening and then they'd leave in another few days.
They were already seven days in to their stay on the farm and Rona was itching to leave. A few more days was like a decade to her. She really could not sit still and wondered sometimes if she got that from her mother. It was no wonder she couldn't train her magic well, she simply didn't have the patience to sit around studying.
"Take me out," she pleaded with Bishop who was laying on the couch he hated, while Karnwyr sat near the fireplace gnawing on a deer leg from their earlier hunt. The wolf had gotten it down to mostly bone and was crunching hard on it.
Bishop sighed loudly, "No. I'm tired, I hunted all day. I just want to nap."
"You should have taken me with you!"
"You were stuck inside that book again," he said.
It was true. When she'd gotten bored enough she dared to venture into the stories of the others, reading into it, shouting at it and then falling into a new story.
She'd just learned about the story of Ja'anna Sihir, a fourteen year old half khajiit, half nord girl. She looked like a khajiit though because her mother was one. She had a beautiful voice and was traveling by sea to go to Skyrim to train with the Greybeards after learning she was Dragonborn when the ship ran aground on some rocks just north of Ysgramor's Tomb. She and the entire crew drowned. It was horrifying and Rona wanted so much to forget it.
"And you couldn't wait five minutes for me to come out of the book?" she scowled at him, feeling annoyed.
Bishop looked up at her and frowned right back, "No, I couldn't wait around. And it's not always five minutes. Sometimes it's way longer, like an hour or two."
"Bishop please," she shifted her shoulders back and forth, getting antsy.
He gave her a salacious grin and said, "I can think of something else we can do. We have until this evening you know and you can be as loud as you want."
"We already did it four times this morning! Gods," she sputtered, exasperated, "All you ever think about is sex!"
He chuckled at her frustration, "You know, I didn't hear you complaining this morning."
She rolled her eyes and crossed her arms. He just yawned and said, "Let's lay down for a nap."
"I'm not tired! I need to do... something!"
He started getting annoyed and barked, "Then go run circles in the garden. Gods, you always get like this sitting around in one place for too long. Your father is right, you really do need to learn to have some patience."
"Easy for you to say," she snapped back, "You get to run all over the place whenever you want!"
He glared at her, "I am not doing this. You're just picking a fight because of all that pent up energy."
"Bishop I just watched a little girl drown! I need to do something!"
"What you need to do is quit looking at the fucking book every time you get bored. Because yesterday you saw that other woman get split in half by two dragons. So quit it already, put it away, fuck Esbern and his fucking need to know all that sick stuff. Now, I'm going to take a nap. So be good and go read a book or something - a normal book," he added.
"UGH!" She stormed outside and paced around the garden for a bit, trying to shake off the memory of it all. It wasn't fair. She should be able to go and do something. She was the Dragonborn, she had the power to shout her enemies down and she just knew there was no way that man was still around. They were long gone, it had been too quiet.
She looked out at the sparkling lake and then movement caught her eye in the window. She looked inside and saw Bishop looking at her, making a face that said, stay. She stuck her tongue out at him and he rolled his eyes, falling back onto the couch.
Karnwyr came outside then, loping along over to her. She knelt down and started petting him and a smile curled at her lips, "Hey, let's go for a walk. It'll be fine if I have you with me, right Karnwyr? You'll keep an eye out for me, right?"
He gave a low whine and his tongue lolled happily from his mouth. She took it as a yes and clicked for him to follow. She wandered off down the hill and towards the lake. She wouldn't go far, she wouldn't run, she'd just sit by the lake, get a little peacefulness and serenity, try to scrub her mind of the horrors of the other Dragonborn women's awful journeys.
She slumped down at the edge of the lake and pulled her boots off and threw her feet into the water. It felt nice but she was getting antsy again as her mind kept wandering back to the awful things she'd seen. She started trying to skip rocks. She wasn't good at it. Bishop could get at least five skips when she only ever got one before it plunked right into the water.
Karnwyr seemed to be enjoying the water's edge, or just being by her side. She enjoyed his company too, he was always so kind and actually seemed to worry for her every time she woke up with him by her side. He and Bishop knew her best. She leaned over and kissed him on his head and then she heard someone clear their throat behind her.
She knew Bishop would be mad and she just said, "I'm fine. See, I've got Karnwyr with me."
"You are very fine little mouse," her heart leapt in her chest and she spun around, ready to shout but they were all on her in seconds binding her mouth so she couldn't shout, and tying her arms and legs tightly. Karnwyr barely got out a growl when they stabbed him in the gut.
She couldn't scream, she couldn't shout, she couldn't move. The terror she felt was beyond description. But when he knelt down in front of her with that wicked grin on his cruel face and he touched her, groping at her chest and caressing her face she shuddered.
Then he spoke low, "Beautiful, sweet mouse. I've been waiting so long for your return. It seems the Thalmor have decided that they don't care what happens to you, so I've decided to finally take you for myself. And oh, am I going to enjoy this. He pulled out a disgusting jagged dagger, covered in new and old blood and held it up to her face. "I can't wait to see the look on your face when I penetrate you with this and not to mention when I penetrate you. Shame I won't get to hear that beautiful voice of yours."
She was trembling fiercely and he laughed, "Yes, you should be scared." Then he lifted her up too easily, throwing her over his shoulder like she was freshly wrapped product from the market. He called out to the other five, "Ready for some fun tonight boys!? Oh the games we're going to play!"