Chapter 81
Healing Scars
(Background music literally anything by Exist Strategy, suggestions: Sunrise, Manual Breathing, St. Catherine, Time Stood Still, Mirror of Kalandra Pt. 2, September 22nd, Let Go - VIP, etc.)
Bishop threw some logs into the fireplace and lit it with a bit of flint on stone, giving the room a relaxed ambience as well as a spot for Karnwyr to snooze by. Rona was sitting at the edge of the bed feeling nervous, but as Bishop came over and sat down beside her he managed to ease all her apprehension with just his words alone.
"We'll take it slow," he said softly as he leaned into her, "Do whatever you feel comfortable with and when you want to stop just say so and I'll pause everything." She felt his facial stubble tenderly brushing her cheek. He went in to nibble on her ear while wrapping his strong hands around her thin waist just holding her gently and paying very close attention to her reactions.
She leaned into him as his lips traced up and down her ear and he nipped delicately, making her shiver all over. Bishop did like to get forceful and rough at times, but he knew exactly what she needed in that moment and gave her an affectionate touch.
He traced his lips down her neck, gently kissing the scars another had left behind. He was healing them in his own way, reminding her what it felt like to be touched out of love. His gentle kissing traveled back up again and across her cheek, before his handsome golden eyes met hers for just a moment and then she closed the distance, touching her full parted lips with his. Their kiss was soft and tender, taking the time to lazily explore each other's mouths.
Bishop kept his hands at her hips, waiting for her command. With her hands clutching at his arms, she took his lower lip in her teeth, carefully biting and tugging before pulling away to whisper, "Touch me."
His hands started to roam then, doing what they did best, starting with the gentle circular motions of his thumbs to her hips as they slowly moved up her abdomen, just rubbing over her clothes first, familiarizing her with the sensation. Taking it slow.
Then he started to move them up to her breasts and she flinched a bit. He stopped and asked, "You okay?"
She nodded, "I... I'm alright."
"Whatever you want, Sweetness. If that's off limits just say the words." How could he be so caring? He was everything she'd ever wanted in a man, in a lover. He cared so much, that to think at one time he pretended not to care, that he once shut out everyone around him because of his own pain, it was unimaginable. She felt the world must have been a darker place before Bishop came out of his shell, certainly her world would have been much darker without his compassion.
She reached around under her hair and undid the button on her dress and pulled it down over her shoulders revealing her white lacy bra. She pulled her arms out of the sleeves, but left her dress sitting at her midriff, still hiding the scar in her side. She grasped the tops of his hands and lifted them, pressing them to her breasts, making herself blush at what she was doing. He touched her there, cupping, stroking and massaging through the fabric. It felt good. Everything about the way he touched her only ever felt good. There was no pain or intent to harm behind his actions.
His hands slowly moved around the fabric of her bra and curved around her back and he asked, "Can I take it off?"
She nodded in the affirmative and he undid it, pulling her brassier off over her arms revealing her beautiful, firm chest. He ran his hands back around, carefully touching and playing with her and she moaned in response to the feeling. Then he pressed his face into her cleavage and she enjoyed his warm breath between her breasts and the sensation of him running his fingers over her budding nipples.
She moaned and leaned into him more and he took one in his mouth, flicking and playing with his tongue. She was getting excited and reached over to the straining bulge in his trousers, grabbing a handful making him groan in surprise. He let her breast fall from his mouth and gave her a salacious grin. She continued to fondle him there, stroking up and down through his clothes when finally he pulled away and started to undo the buckles on his leather cuirass.
He took it off and grasped her hands then, tugging her closer to him. He held her finger in hand and started to trace up and down the scars all along his muscular abdomen and chest. They were old faded marks from vicious whip lashes, two which curved around his rib cage and one that crossed over his chest. There were so many other marks too, from his abusive childhood when his father would beat him with objects and plenty more from their own battles against the dragons.
"See Ladyship? Lots and lots of scars. I've got plenty of my own," he turned to show her the ones on his back, three more vicious whip strikes crisscrossing on his back and a single, thin scar, that reached from his shoulder down to his hip, the one from the tip of a sword.
She traced a finger along that one and asked, "Do they ever bother you? Seeing them?"
He was quiet for a moment, thinking when he said, "They used to bother me. Used to think of myself as disfigured, but I started to look at them as reminders of what I survived instead. They became marks of strength. That long one, you're touching now?" She blushed but didn't move her hand, "That one saved Karnwyr's life and I wouldn't change that for anything. Same with these whip marks... all worth it."
He turned back to her and said, "Your scars too, they're proof of your strength. That's why they'll never be ugly."
She smiled, the heat settling in her cheeks and then she stood up and moved in front of him, holding her dress at her waist. He put his hands to his knees and gave her a warm smile. She took a breath and let her dress drop to the floor, revealing the awful, jagged, white scar on her hip.
Bishop didn't recoil or look disgusted though, instead he held his hands out, motioning for her to come closer. She took a step forward and he looked at the mark, running his fingers across it, feeling all the strange bumps and curves it left on her skin. And then he pressed his lips gently to it, kissing it up and down and he turned his head, resting his cheek on her abdomen so that she could curl her fingers through his hair and run her nails along his scalp.
He said, "It hurt so much watching him give it to you. I'm sorry I couldn't save you from that."
She cupped his face in her hands, turning his head up to look at her and she said, "But you did save me Bishop. You found me and you took me home."
He had tears in his eyes and he shook his head, "No... I should have been with you."
"Don't blame yourself for that," she said and sat down on the bed beside him, "No more blame. I lost my voice because of the guilt I was carrying, putting you and Ata through all that. I met Jillian in a dream and she told me I had to forgive myself, so I did... So forgive yourself, Bishop. Don't carry it around, you don't deserve that."
"Ladyship..." he whispered.
She was feeling like her old self again, confident and beautiful. She wanted to put it all behind them and move forward. She wanted to make love to this man.
She grasped his shoulders, pulling herself up to kiss him again, more forcefully this time. He gave a low desirable growl to her sudden eagerness and kissed her with great passion in return. He started to get more bold with his touching, running his hands over her body, touching her in all her favorite places and making her moan in reply.
As he was nipping into her neck, sharply biting and tugging at her skin, she smiled and said, "Get naked and lay down on the bed."
He complied immediately, standing to tear the rest of his clothes off and centered himself in the middle of the bed. His thick erection lay back against his abdomen and she got between his legs and grasped him with her small hands. She leaned down and flashed him a sexy smile before taking him into her mouth which he obviously enjoyed very much when he groaned deeply and bucked his hips a little.
She licked all up and down his shaft, holding what she couldn't fit inside her mouth with her hand and stroking him up and down with the motions of her mouth. She enjoyed it a lot, pleasuring him like that and really liked watching his eyes roll and listening to him gasp and sigh with each pass over the soft head of his cock. She licked all under the crown, making him very sensitive. He started twitching and moaned, "Unng! Ladyship, that's - yeah - right there!"
She started to suck hard, just at the tip, feeling his precum coating the tip of her tongue, making her saliva thicken and adding to the abundant lubrication all over his member. She started to let it get messier around her lips and all over his crotch, which seemed to really turn him on more. He laced his fingers through her hair, grabbing a handful and started to thrust a bit harder into her mouth, panting with each new inch taken until he hit the back of her throat and she pulled back.
"Ah... sorry," he breathed, "Forgot you didn't use that spell." He gave a breathy chuckle and she just smiled at him, wiping the mess from her face. She sat upright on her knees and slid her panties down, then fell back on her rear and finished kicking them off. She climbed up on top of him, nestling her very wet folds around his throbbing cock.
He grinned up at her and said, "Mmm, I like this. Going to have your way with me?"
"For a little while," she said, "But I'd like to do this all night if we can. Every position imaginable!"
He rest his hands on her hips and said, "Oh definitely, Princess. All night, through the morning and on until tomorrow evening and more. Whenever you want, however you want, I am your man."
She leaned over him, her breasts pressing against his chest and she said, "And I'm you're woman, Bishop. Always."
A fire seemed to ignite behind his golden eyes at her declaration and he couldn't stop himself from rolling his hips and grinding himself against her. She gasped and then he caught her lips with his and wrapped his hands tightly to her ass. She felt the ridge of his penis sliding up against her hardened nub which made them both moan deeply against each other's mouths. Finally she couldn't wait any longer, she was absolutely ready for him and he her. She pulled away from his coiling tongue, drawing a single strand of saliva between them. She sat up and positioned the tip of his incredibly hard cock with her dripping opening and then she pushed herself swiftly down taking him all at once and bottoming out.
"Ooouuuhh!" Bishop let out a very mixed sound at the feeling of his prick pressing so hard and so suddenly at the opening to her womb. He took a breath, grinning and said, "Careful now. Don't want to make me lose it too quick."
She gave him a mischievous smirk and said, "Let's see if I can make you come first."
He quickly sat upright, startling her so that they were suddenly face to face. "Oh? Is that a challenge?" he asked. His playful grin became rather devilish and he said, "Because I never lose a challenge beautiful."
She bit her lip and started grinding her hips on him, making him groan more. She leaned close to his face, so that their open mouths were very close and she said, "Bring it on ranger."
They turned it into a playful game then, one where he took long, hard strokes within her, bucking his hips hard against her sweet spot inside and she massaged her swollen pleasure center and made her slick walls convulse and grip him tighter than ever, sending him reeling more than once.
She was impressed with how well he was holding back too. After an hour of intense and wild fucking in many positions, he had her on her knees, both dripping with sweat. He thrust sloppily and deeply into her, making his heavy testicles slap against her, so that the erotic sound of skin on skin filled her ears. The gentle slap, slap, slap of that part of him aroused her so much. She wanted to drain it already. She absolutely needed to come. She was unbelievably wet and rubbing herself raw, trying so hard and failing to make him come first.
She felt him lean over her back suddenly, wrapping his arms tightly around her waist and pressing himself so much closer to her and filling her even deeper too. She moaned loudly and felt his breath tickling at her ear when he said, "I can tell you're ready to give up Ladyship. You're tightening around me so much. It's alright to give in to the pleasure."
"No, nooo, I won't lose," she moaned pathetically.
He chuckled against her ear, "As soon as you come Rona, I'll give you what you really want. I'll empty myself all inside and fill you to the brim."
Ooh he was bad! He was cheating! He knew exactly how to flip her switch. She moaned in a submissive fashion then, wanting nothing more than to just give in. Then she felt the combination of his hand reaching up and press hard on her very swollen and raw nub and his teeth and tongue nipping tenderly at the tip of her ear making her senses go alight all over. She couldn't hold back anymore, she didn't want to. She let it happen.
Her face flushed crimson and she cried out loudly as her convulsive, mind blowing orgasm sent shockwave after shockwave through her entire being. Over and over again her muscles contracted tightly, gripping him harder than ever, begging him to release within. She heard him grunt heavily and felt him picking up his pace until finally, after several hard thrusts that wonderful thickening and twitching of his cock filled her to the core, as he sent wave after wave of delicious warmth within.
Her knees gave out and she melted into a puddle of satiated goo, he seemed to do the same as she suddenly felt his heaviness relaxing on top of her. She didn't care though, she rather liked being squished by him, especially when he stayed sheathed within.
They were both hot and sticky and breathing heavily. Finally Bishop rolled off of her and she looked over at him, still feeling dazed from her own orgasm. She watched his masculine chest rise and fall quickly with each breath.
He sighed and looked over at her, "Damn woman... I'll admit you almost had me a few times."
She smiled and forced herself up and over him. She kissed him full on the mouth then pulled back and said, "Thank you."
He grinned, "For the incredible orgasm?"
She laughed lightly, kissing him again, "For everything."
They didn't get to sleep in too late because Karnwyr was scratching and whining at the door, needing to go out and do his business. They rolled out of bed, Bishop taking a quick wash first and dressing himself when he said with a yawn, "Meet you out there Lightfoot. I think he's gonna piss himself if I don't hurry up."
"Okay," she called back as she was finishing washing herself over the wash basin, "Just watch out for Mrs. Gilseene. She might try and force her pirate perch pancakes on you."
He grimaced, "Eyugh... I'll keep that in mind."
He hurried down the stairs and heard the old argonian fussing around in the kitchen as dishware clattered around. The smell of cooking fish filled his nostrils and Karnwyr seemed distracted by the scent too, wanting to go towards it. Bishop quickly put a foot out, redirecting the wolf back towards the front door and said, "I don't think so. I am not eating fish anything for breakfast and neither are you."
Karnwyr whined but turned around and Bishop let him out. He idly watched people passing by and milling about, going about their daily routines while the wolf looked for the best shrub to do his business on. He heard the sound of a child playing two doors down and peered around.
A little girl with curly, short bobbed brown hair was running around her front yard, stabbing at invisible enemies with a wooden sword. He heard her shouting, "And then she lanced the evil werebunnies in the heart! Saving the prince from certain death! And the whole kingdom cheered for their great hero!" She made the sound of a crowd cheering and threw her arms up.
Bishop chuckled to himself and then the front door of her house opened and a familiar voice called, "Holly sweetie, come in and have your breakfast. We still have a lot to do today."
Bishop felt like his heart just stopped as he stared harder at the little girl.
She said, "Ok Mama. I just finished saving the prince anyways."
When she went inside and the door closed behind her with a light click, he realized then that he had moved a full house closer and was just staring at the door. It couldn't be. Elise? Holly?
He knew in his heart it was them. Bishop was eighteen years old when Holly was born. By now she was nine, going on ten. It had been eight years since he'd seen either of them, the last time being when he'd given Elise Jules' amulet and left.
He'd been there for Holly's birth, having managed to get away from Thorn and all his cronies for a short while with the help of Freya and the others. He still remembered cradling that sweet girl in his arms for the first time and remembered that she had Jules' eyes. He wanted so much to see her eyes, to prove it was her. He had to know.
A hand touched his arm and broke him from his reverie, startling him. He looked down and Rona was looking up at him curiously, "Everything alright? You were just staring off into space for a minute."
"Huh? Oh... yeah, everything's fine Ladyship," he faked a yawn, "Just uh, still a little tired."
She smiled and said, "Well come on, let's get going. Charissa has a pile of contracts she wants us to take care of."
He groaned, "Whatever happened to taking time off again?"
She laughed and moved ahead of him, with Karnwyr following close by, "Come on! It'll be fun."
"That's what you said about the vampire den," he called back. He took one last glance at the house before moving on again, following her off to the Fighter's Guild.
They rode steadily along the path to their first contract where they were tasked with clearing out a cave of goblins that had been harassing a local farmer.
Bishop started to wonder why he'd lied to Rona. He never lied to her about anything. So why this? Because he was afraid. He had no doubt Elise knew what he did. Back then Casavir probably couldn't stop himself from painting him as the murderer he believed him to be.
If she saw him again would she hear him out? Or would she just blindly believe the Paladin? But... he had killed Jules. Stabbed his own brother right in his heart. He started reliving that memory over and over again, wondering why he'd done it. They could have escaped together through all the chaos. But Jules had attacked him. Why? He couldn't understand it.
Rona noticed his brooding and leaned over asking, "Bishop, are you alright?"
He snapped out of it and tried to brush it off, "Yeah. Fine. Why do you ask?"
"You just seem kind of down."
"Not down, just a little achy. Last night took a lot out of me," more lies.
She smirked, blushing a little and said, "Sorry about that."
"Never apologize for that, Ladyship," he said, "I'll be fine and I always have plenty more to give," he tossed her a salacious grin.
She smirked, blushing more and they continued on with their day, taking out goblin infestation after goblin infestation. It was fairly easy mercenary work, especially with Rona's shouts and songs of power at play again. Bishop hardly had to lift a finger which gave him all the more time to brood over his past instead.
After a week of non-stop contract clearing, regular evenings of drinking at the tavern with Rona's friends, and night after night of passionate sex with her, Bishop found himself completely exhausted. On the eighth morning of their stay in the city, she was already up bright and early and getting ready to go while he stayed in bed with a heavy hangover from the evening before.
She sat down beside him and pouted, "Aw, feeling sick?"
He looked up at her with dark circles under his eyes and said, "I think I need a day off Lightfoot. I don't know how you do it."
She kissed him on the cheek and said, "It's okay if you want to stay here today. I can handle the rest of the contracts with the girls instead. We're down to the last of them anyways. I've never seen Charissa so happy honestly. Then tomorrow we're heading out to the Imperial City and we'll be staying there for the next few weeks before the wedding."
"Oh good," he said, "I was getting a little worried that we were keeping up Mrs. Scaleskin with all our howling."
"Mrs. Gilseene," Rona emphasized, correcting him.
"Right. Mrs. Leatherbag, whatever," she rolled her eyes at him and he continued, "She hasn't been looking so good. I think she's on her last legs Lightfoot. Might want to let her family know before she croaks in the kitchen and stinks up the place worse than her cooking."
Rona made a face at him and laughed a little, "Okay, I'll write a letter to her son letting him know. How sweet of you to care though."
"Like I said, Ladyship, I just don't want her to croak and stink up the place while we're still here. She's nuts by the way. She keeps asking me to put all her dishes up so high for her. What's the point if she's never going to be able to reach them?"
Rona giggled, getting up and said, "Pretty sure she's using it as an excuse to get a look at your ass."
He raised a brow and said, "Wow, never considered that. Damn that's smart."
Rona laughed more and then clicked for Karnwyr.
"Hey," Bishop said, "Leave him with me today. He needs a break too. Gonna shave those five years Sanguine gave him back right off again with all this guild work."
"Well alright. He's gonna miss his new friends though, aren't you boy?" She said kneeling down to Karnwyr to scratch him behind the ears.
"He's going to miss humping on them," Bishop snorted, "I think he's getting jealous of us fooling around so much and not getting any for himself."
"Or it could be because Bear is in heat," she said standing again.
Bishop cocked a brow at her, "What? Wait - one of those dogs is female?"
"Yes! Bear is a girl."
"Oh. I just thought he was getting confused or fancied males like your bosmer friend."
Rona laughed and waved a hand, "See you tonight, love."
"Watch yourself out there Lightfoot!" He called as she left the room.
"Always!" He heard her shout back.
He waited around patiently for another hour to roll on by before he got up and dressed himself. It wasn't a total lie. He was in fact unbelievably exhausted from the non-stop guild work and he did have a pretty nasty hangover from their wild night of getting piss-ass drunk and dancing in the tavern, but he really wanted to see Holly and maybe even talk to Elise.
He knew he would need Karnwyr's charms to make that a whole lot easier too. He coaxed the wolf along and narrowly avoided Mrs. Gilseene, who he honestly thought was dead on her couch until she moved slightly, mumbling some nonsense that sounded like 'dithis' which he thought was her trying to ask him to put more dishes away. But then she fell right back to sleep to his relief. He quickly stepped outside, not worrying about shutting the door loudly since the woman was practically deaf anyways.
He started his slow walk past the first house, eyeing the yard of the second one where he saw Holly playing in the yard. She was very busy building a little house out of twigs and rocks with her back to the road. Bishop set his plan into motion, fishing around his pocket for a piece of jerky, which Karnwyr immediately saw and pressed his nose to Bishop's hand.
He wouldn't let him have it just yet. He glanced around the area. There were no townsfolk in sight, which was a good thing, because to an outsider, what he was doing would seem pretty creepy.
He walked by the yard, very close to the gates and tossed the jerky right up behind the girl's back while she continued to busy herself with her work. In seconds Karnwyr hurried over, rounding around the short brick wall into the yard and bit into the piece of dried meat on the ground. Bishop kept walking though, slowly, waiting for her to notice.
When she did she turned right around and sounded surprised, "Ah! Oh... someone's doggy... Excuse me, mister! Is this your dog?"
He turned around and said, "Tsk! What do you think you're doing boy?" He walked over and into the yard, grasping the wolf by the scruff of his neck and said, "I'm really sorry about that, kid. Sometimes he just gets curious."
He got a good look at her then and his heart twisted in his chest. There was no doubt in his mind. It was Holly, she had his brother's eyes and even his dark curly hair. Everything else was Elise though.
She seemed curious about the wolf and said, "You have a pretty dog. What's his name?"
"His name is Karnwyr," he said and her eyes lit up.
She smiled sweetly at him and said, "My papa had a wolf named Karnwyr!"
He frowned inwardly at himself, realizing how stupid it was to tell her that. Not only because Elise would have told her all about Karnwyr but Holly would definitely tell her mother all about meeting a 'dog' named Karnwyr too.
Still, he was too happy talking to his brother's daughter to stop now. He said, "Really? That's amazing. Not a very common name."
"Can I pet him?" She asked.
He smiled and said, "Sure."
"How old is he?" She asked as Karnwyr enjoyed the ear and neck scratches she was giving him.
"About five years old now," he said, which was partially true. Karnwyr was ten years old at least, but with Sanguine giving him half his life back he was actually much younger now.
"He's really nice," she said.
"Yeah," he agreed, "he is," then he looked over her little building and he asked, "What are you making?"
"Just a castle. I still have to dig out the moat," she said as she turned her attention back to the building and took a twig, sticking it into the dirt and started carving a river around it.
He wasn't sure how much longer he could carry on a conversation with her without it being too weird. He was a complete stranger to her, but he wanted so much to not be. She was all the family he had left, at least the family he cared about. He wanted her to know who he was and he found himself saying the words without meaning to, "You know, this is the same wolf your pa had." She looked up at him curiously and he kept talking, "I used to know him. Jules right? He was my... he was my best friend."
The little girl's mouth parted slightly as she really started to study him but before she had a chance to say anything the door opened and a pretty blonde nord woman with dark eyes and a curvy figure stepped out. She was holding a sword in hand and said quickly, "Holly, get inside right now."
Her daughter got up immediately, though her eyes were still glued to Bishop and he would not break the gaze until Elise stepped firmly in the middle of his view, sword firmly clutched in hand.
He uttered, "I - I'm sorry..."
She was furious, "What in Oblivion do you think you're doing? Talking to her, telling her you knew her father? How dare you? How dare you come back here after everything you did. How did you even find us!?"
He looked away shamefully, "It wasn't on purpose, I swear Elise. I just," he sighed, "I'm here on... business and I just saw her and... gods," he put a hand to his face. It was not going like he'd hoped, but it was going just like he expected.
"You murdered him Bishop," she stepped forward, angry tears in her eyes, pointing the sword out at him, "So how dare you stand here and act like you have any right to talk to his child! Get out of here. I never want to see your face here again. If I do I swear I will kill you myself."
He pressed his lips together and nodded shortly, uttering another 'sorry' and quickly turned and left. He didn't go back to Rona's attic space though, instead he wove his way through the city and wandered into an old lodge across the street from their usual tavern. He needed a drink.
It was very late when Rona, Charissa and Roxlin got back from their contracts. They were all exhausted and ready for bed already.
"Go ahead and sleep in Rona," Roxlin said with a yawn and she stretched tiredly, "I know I am. We'll meet here around noon before we head out for the Imperial City."
"Alright," Rona replied, "See you tomorrow, goodnight!" She waved at them both and moved along. She was ready for a quiet night in bed with Bishop, kind of hoping he was still tired because she did not have it in her for another round of sex.
She looked up at the full moon and figured it must have been about midnight already. She came around the winding path and saw the house in the distance. She noticed a dark figure walking down the steps as though they were leaving. They walked around the building and were illuminated by the moonlight.
It looked like Mrs. Gilseene and Rona worried that she might be lost or confused. She was very old and most of the time she just slept, so for her to be up and about that late was a bit alarming. Rona moved a little quicker and went around the left side of the house. She saw the argonian woman and another dark figure with their backs facing her, standing in front of the old well.
"There's not much time left," she heard Mrs. Gilseene say, "Let us go and speak with her swiftly now."
The voice of the other person was strange. He sounded almost giddy with excitement as he tittered, "Ooh! Perhaps Mother will choose Cicero! Oh how delightful that would be! To finally hear Mother's sweet, whispers of death."
"She will not choose you Cicero," Mrs. Gilseene said firmly, "If she chose you then who would be Keeper? Come now, help this old woman down will you? I'm not a young hatchling anymore."
Cicero sighed annoyed and said "Yeesss Listener."
The strange man helped the old argonian into the well then while Rona watched from the side of the house, utterly bewildered by what was happening. She must have been seeing things, hearing things. This was far too strange. Not to mention Mrs. Gilseene sounded almost, normal and spoke quickly even.
She couldn't help herself then. She followed after them and looked down into the old well. She glanced around in the quiet night and then quickly climbed in. Down inside she found herself in a very dark chamber. She heard their voices again and cloaked herself in her magic.
"Light that torch, will you Cicero? My cataracts are bothering me. Can't see much anymore..."
Rona saw a the flicker of a light then, illuminating a spacious stone interior, although it was completely vacant of any decor. It looked like an old tomb. She saw the light moving down a hallway and she followed.
The man giggled and said sing-song, "Happy, happy, happy."
"You are happy Cicero?" Mrs. Gilseene asked him mindlessly.
"Oh very much so, Listener. For Mother is to choose a new Listener and you shall die and be dead! And Cicero will no longer have to bow the old lizard's whims, oh no. Cicero will have a new Listener to follow, a better, kinder, younger Listener."
Mrs. Gilseene chuckled and said, "We shall see Cicero. Perhaps she will choose another just like myself." She cackled madly at him and Rona could hear the scowl in his voice.
"Let us pray to Sithis that is not the case," he grumbled.
The two of them continued around the winding halls before stopping in another dark chamber. It was empty of anything except for a single sarcophagus standing center against the far wall. The two of them approached it and Rona realized that her heart was pounding frantically in her chest. The whole thing was so eerie and strange. She had to be dreaming, but her dreams were never like this.
Mrs. Gilseene said, "Open it. I wish to look upon our nightly matron once more."
Cicero stepped up to the sarcophagus and Rona finally got a good look at the man. He was a short breton man with pale sickly skin, that contrasted starkly with his absurd outfit, for he was dressed head to toe in red and black jester's clothes.
He undid a latch and pulled open the sarcophagus revealing the terror within. Rona had to stifle her gasp as she looked on at the mummified remains of a dead woman, wrapped in dirty grey cloth with her arms crossed over her chest. She'd been tied together with rope and her face was mangled in a horrific way, with her mouth agape, displaying her yellowed teeth and her eyes were sewn shut. Her head was cocked in a way that made her like as though she'd died in pain, like she was buried alive.
Rona held her hands to her mouth and tried to stop her sudden shaking as she watched Mrs. Gilseene bow to the corpse and said, "Dearest Night Mother, my time comes hastily. In my old age I have not been able to serve our dark lord Sithis and so the Black Hand, the mark upon my arm grows with every life I am unable to send forth to the void. It moves now to claim my soul in their place. Allow me to perform my final rite as Listener, tell me who is to take my place."
There was a long pause, a deep, deafening silence. Rona was sure that they would hear her heart thudding hard against her ribcage.
Finally Mrs. Gilseene spoke again, "The Dragonborn?"
Rona was sure her heart stopped then. There was no way, absolutely no way they knew she was there.
"The girl? Truly? She is to be the new one?"
Another long pause. Rona wanted to move, she willed her legs to move, to leave immediately but she was frozen there, frozen in terror. Bishop would have scoffed at her, "You can face down dragons but you can't shout down a decrepit old woman, a corpse and a jester?" But this whole situation was just too strange. Too surreal.
"I see... Yes, Night Mother. I will make sure it is done."
Mrs. Gilseene turned around then and her eyes fell on Rona, or rather the spot she was crouched in, still invisible, for how much longer she was not sure. Cicero looked on curiously at Mrs. Gilseene and then turned to look where she was looking, still quite confused as he bobbed his head around, almost comically.
The old argonian woman started to fish around in her robe pocket then and pulled something out, something that Rona noticed glinted in the firelight. Something metal. Mrs. Gilseene tried to conceal it but Rona had already seen. She prepared herself, realizing she was not dealing with just some crotchety old woman anymore. She was dealing with someone else entirely, someone dangerous.
"It is time now, Cicero," she breathed, "She drew up the sleeve of her robes revealing a large black mark that looked like a handprint, starting at her wrist and clutching the entire underside of her arm. Rona even saw it moving slightly, just like Dragon's Frost.
"Here?" Cicero said surprised, "Now? But there is no one else here! Oh no, no, no! You cannot kill yourself now Listener! We have no new Listener to take your place!"
"She is here. She stands before us now a very special woman indeed. Rona Lightfoot... Yes, that is what I have known you as since you were just a young girl. But now, you are Dragonborn. You hid that secret well child, I had no idea. Very special indeed. You have also been chosen by the Night Mother to take my place as Listener. I know you will not want it but we have lost so many of our own that now we must rely on outsiders to fill the void," she smiled wickedly and gave a rattled laugh as she held her arm out, wrist up.
"I go to Sithis now and you shall take my place. Serve us well Rona of Dragon Fangs."
(The song is Malefic Time by Peter Gundry)
Rona watched as Mrs. Gilseene swiped a dagger across her wrist deeply, making her blood pour in thick rivulets onto the ground. There was something strange about it though. It was an inky black in color and it started moving along the floor, creeping towards her.
Her fight or flight reflexes kicked in so hard then. She fled, breaking her invisibility spell as Mrs. Gilseene cried out, "DO NOT LET HER ESCAPE CICERO! SHE IS THE ONE! SHE HAS BEEN CHOSEN!"
Cicero cackled madly and she heard him racing after her. Rona chanced a glance back and saw not only the jester but the blood chasing after her. The strange inky blood had formed into a dark hand on the ground, with long snaking fingers that were searching for her.
She shouted, "TIID KLO UL!"
Time slowed way down, slowing the pace of the madman, but not the terrifying blood mark that chased her, quite possibly because it was not human in nature, it was something evil and otherworldly. She kept running and started to notice all the banners hanging on the pillars. Solid red banners with a black handprint on them. The sign of the Dark Brotherhood.
She realized then that in her terror she'd run right past the ladder leading up to the well. She kept going though, hoping and praying for a way out until she nearly slammed into the most horrifying door she'd ever seen. It was a black stone door with the carvings of a skull on it. A red handprint bore into the center of that skull and there were the skeletons of an adult and many children below it. She couldn't pass through.
She turned around and saw the blood drawing ever closer and she remembered, you're the fucking Dragonborn!
She summoned the inferno within, sending out her golden fires. The flames burned up the banners in the room and the moment the flames touched the inky blood fingers, they recoiled and hissed. She could swear she heard the terrifying screams of the dead come from it. She allowed the flames to continue to permeate her body, focusing entirely on that and quickly moved back around, racing towards the escape hatch.
She realized her shout had ended however when she heard the voice of the madman, "Wait! Listener! No please wait! Oh Listener, lovely, sweet, powerful Listener. You cannot go, you must stay, you must serve the Night Mother and Sithis. It has been done. You cannot leave, " he pleaded but avoided her flames as they were hot to him, she made sure of it.
She shook her head at the lunatic and quickly climbed the ladder leading up and out of that terrifying place. The second she climbed out of that well she ran, not looking back, flames still burning brightly around her, terrified the Black Hand would find her still. Mrs. Gilseene was dead. She was dead. She cut herself, bled out some kind of horrible piece of Oblivion and it nearly took her. She needed to find Bishop. She stopped herself, halfway across the city and looked back, "Oh gods... Bishop... he's still." She threw her hands to her mouth. She'd have to go back.
Just then right on cue, the doors to an old lodge on her right burst open and Bishop stepped out with Karnwyr right at his side. He looked awful. He was absolutely plastered drunk and practically stumbled out the door. He looked over at her and slurred, "Laaadyship? What's with the... with the" he waved his hands out in a circular motion, "all this?"
She wouldn't let up the fire though, still utterly paranoid the black blood was coming to get her. He squinted at her, noticing her shaking and mumbled, "You alright Ladyfoot? Looking kinda shook up..."
Her lips were trembling too and she said, "We have to leave. We have to leave right now."
"Why?" he squinted. Gods, why did he have to be drunk right then? It was such a bad time for it. Not to mention... why was he getting drunk alone?
She turned in a circle, checking every which way before letting her fires disperse. She went up to him, grasping his arms and said, "Please Bishop. I can't explain right now, but please can we leave? Just, sleep outside the city for a night. I can't stay here."
He took a breath trying very hard to see straight it seemed as he blinked a few times and muttered, "Uh yeah, sure. Whatever you want Lady... Ladyness," he shook his head, "Yeah Rona, whatever you want."
She grabbed his hand and pulled him along with her. She made him ride with her on one of their horses. She rode for a good hour, trying to get as far from the city as she could. Bishop fell asleep, leaning heavily on her back, but she didn't care. At least he wasn't complaining about how far she was going.
When she felt safe enough, out in the middle of a field with plenty of oak trees for cover, she woke him up and he grumbled a bit but helped her set up a camp for the night. She went around doing her best to put down some protective runes on the off chance the mad jester found her somehow.
She curled up next to Bishop on a bedroll and he promptly fell asleep again. She was a bit irritated with him, wanting so much to have him be awake and alert to keep an eye out for her.
She started going over all the details in her mind. Everything that happened. Mrs. Gilseene was a member of the Dark Brotherhood, without a doubt. Rona had a feeling she was speaking or praying or communicating somehow with that mummified corpse. How else could she have not only known she was there but that she was the Dragonborn? She even used the name Eira gave her, Rona of Dragon Fangs and very few people knew her by that name. She was positive that Mrs. Gilseene had just killed herself too. She'd kept talking about what little time she had left and the insane jester kept rambling about her dying and wanting her to die. The whole thing was just totally insane. She kept rolling these thoughts over and over through her mind until she started to slowly nod off and drifted into sleep.