Chapter 83

Jewel Thieves

(Background Music YouTube - Skyrim - Music & Ambience - Rainy Towns)

The sound of rain pattering the windows was what roused him from his sleep. Bishop woke up feeling more well rested than he had in a long time. He wasn't sure if it was because of the amazing sex the night before or if it was the enormous four person bed he found himself on.

Both he and Rona were curled up in the middle of it, laying on red silk sheets. He sat up scratching his chest and looked around at the room. It was incredible and by far one of the most expensive places he'd ever stayed in. It was just a single room, as far as he could see from his vantage point, with the enormous bed set against one of the walls, facing a spacious light wood and white marble kitchen set one step up, dividing the room between red carpeted floors on the bed side and dark wood floors on the kitchen side.

To his left, near the large shining windows was a sitting area with red fabric couches and chairs and dark wood tables, all placed in a way so that one could enjoy the incredible view outside. The walls were decorated in beautiful paintings set in ornate gold frames and depicting varying landscapes from all across Tamriel as he recognized quite a few of the places.

He noticed a door near the kitchen and figured that must be the bathing room. He needed to take a leak anyhow, so he got up, leaving Rona mumbling some nonsense in her half-sleep stupor and went in only to be met with a very clean bathroom, with large beige tiles on the floor and walls and a white tub made for six inset in the floor near a wall with a gold plated spigot sticking out of it. He grinned thinking of all the fun they were going to have in that huge tub.

The back wall was fitted with wooden shelves full of bathing products, soaps, hair tonics, and perfumes. There was a beautiful vanity centered between the shelves, covered with an assortment of makeup products and a large square mirror had been mounted to the wall and fitted into a shimmering pearlescent frame. Next to that appeared to be a walk in closet which he peeked into and found was full of all kinds of clothing, mostly formalwear, evening gowns and dresses in all colors and sizes and plenty of grey and black doublets and breeches, with a few varying colors like dark reds, blues and greens.

He found the toilet nearby, next to a sink, both facing opposite to the tub and even that looked impressive to him. It was probably the cleanest porcelain shitter he'd ever seen in his life.

He finished taking care of his business and went back into the kitchen and looked around. He started opening the cupboards and found them full of fresh food, plenty of fruits, vegetables, grains, breads and spices. The amount of spices was insane to him. He smirked already knowing he was going to be pocketing nearly all of them when they left. He also found a huge selection of liquor in one of the cupboards. It was the good stuff too, all of it very expensive, like Cyrodiilic Brandy, a variety of Surilie Brothers Vintage Wines, Rosethorn Mead, and even a single bottle of Shadowbanish Wine which was a real rarity. He peeked into the icebox last and found it chock full of fresh fish and red meats. It seemed the place had been prepared just for their arrival.

He was feeling amazing about it all too. He'd never experienced that kind of luxury before and luckily it came with no real strings attached. He just had to attend one wedding and wear some surprisingly comfortable formalwear. He didn't have any expectations placed on his shoulders or have to do anything else except be with his beautiful, wonderful woman. He looked back at her still sleeping form, totally naked on that huge bed and surrounded in red silk sheets.

He felt his lust growing at the sight of her and quickly crossed the room again, crawled back onto the bed and leaned over her.

She opened her lovely green eyes a bit and looked up at him grinning down at her. She returned the smile and said sweetly, "Morning handsome. You look like you're in a good mood."

"A great mood, Ladyship," he laid down next to her, on his side, holding his head up with an arm. He started stroking her hair and said, "I ever tell you how much I love you?"

She laughed a little and replied, "You could always tell me more often, I wouldn't complain."

He leaned over her, looking deeply into her eyes and traced her lips with his and breathed, "I love you more than you will ever know Rona. You've given me the greatest joy in my life, you've allowed me to experience things with you that I never would have experienced otherwise... but the best part of it all, is that it's been with you."

Her eyes were wide, her face was burning bright red and she could hardly stop her lovely smile from curling at her perfect pink lips. He loved it all, every part of her. She was so beautiful to him, she had no idea.

"Wow, Bishop, that was... almost poetic," she mumbled bashfully.

"Going shy on me are you?" He chuckled and started nibbling at her lips.

"Mmm," she moaned under him and he let his hands roam all over her, feeling every perfect curve, every inch of her supple body, but most especially the warm wetness between her legs. She pulled her lips away to whisper, "Maybe we should bathe..."

"Hmm," he mumbled mindlessly as he kept touching her and rubbing all over her swollen nub, "Oh because of the mess from last night? I don't mind that at all Sweetness. It actually makes me harder, especially knowing that it's all from me." He wrapped his legs around one of hers, giving her a feel of his throbbing erection against her thigh.

"Oooh Bishop..." She moaned.

"Yes, Rona? Do you have something you want to say?" He gave her a salacious grin. Her blushing was endless, she could be so shy at times and he said, "Remember in Solitude, when I tied you up? Let it out. Talk dirty to me, Princess. I want to hear every naughty thing you've ever thought of doing to me."

She seemed to muster up her nerve then and breathed some very enticing things indeed, "I want it all the time, I just want to fuck endlessly, fall into our own world of pleasure again, like at the falls, after the first time. I want you to take me over and over Bishop, to hold me tightly and..."

"And?" He encouraged her, waiting with bated breath.

"I want you to come inside me and fill me up, it feels so good, it feels so amazing, everything you do to me is amazing. Sometimes I can't stop thinking about it, about the way you look at me, the way you touch me," she pushed him back on the bed and mounted him to his surprise. She grabbed a hold of his thickness, pressing him to her tight slit and he slipped right in. He got a good look at her impassioned, blushing face as she lost control and started riding him hard, doing everything she could to draw it out of him while she moaned, "I love it! I love this feeling! I want you inside me always, just rubbing me in all the right ways! Oh Bishop! Fuck me! Fuck me! Make me come!"

Holy shit. He'd asked for and he got it. Granted he wanted it to last longer, but her lovely voice, her innocent lips shouting such lewd things while she straddled and stroked him over and over again with her tight pussy was very overwhelming. He was about to lose it, but he really, really wanted to make her come first and see what else she had to say.

He quickly grabbed a hold of her hips and held her, making her stop the motions for a moment. She grinned broadly down at him, realizing she'd almost set him off and asked coyly, "Am I going to win this time?"

He groaned, "If you keep that up you will. Gods woman. Where does it come from?" He kept talking, catching his breath, distracting her, "One minute you're the shyest little doe I've ever seen and then the next you're this confident and very vocal minx."

She bucked her hips on him, smirking still and he could see the mischievous look in her eyes. He clenched his teeth, holding it all back as her velvety insides writhed all over his throbbing member.

"I don't know," she said smiling, "I guess it's... a mental block. I have to overcome it in order to let go?"

"Well keep it up-aaaAAahh!" She was doing that thing again, twisting her muscles around him, trying to stroke it out of him while she looked down at him with half lidded eyes, biting her lip. He reached around behind her and spanked her firm ass hard making her yelp. He grinned and said, "Keep that up love and I'll have to start punishing you."

She pulled her hands up, caressing her own body, sliding her fingers over her blushing nipples and around her neck. She reached up running her hands through her hair and flashed him the absolute sexiest look he'd ever seen as she moaned, "I just can't help myself Bishop. Your cock feels sooo thick and hard inside me."

"Oh fuck, you bad, bad girl," he muttered and started bucking his hips sharply into her. He groaned heavily feeling the way she gripped him but especially the way the tip of his prick felt pressing hard against her every time he bottomed out. "Mmnnn, you want it that bad? I'll give it to you then," he said and pushed himself up on the bed so that they were face to face. This always seemed to surprise her, or perhaps it was just the fact that it pushed his cock a little further inside.

She threw her arms around his neck and he grasped tightly to her waist and started to bounce her on his lap. He enjoyed the view of her soft breasts pressing up against his firm chest and how they rounded out so nicely, accentuating her cleavage. But his eyes traveled back up and met with her hooded ones. She was very aroused, he could see it all over her face and feel it in her body. She was even more beautiful to him in this state. She gave him a view, an expression, which only he would ever have the pleasure of witnessing and he loved it.

He started kissing the nape of her neck and wrapped his arms tightly around her back and listened to her lovely whimpers and moans as he continued his thorough thrusting within her. He was absolutely determined to make her come and he'd always been very good at holding back, still he'd need a better position to get access to the other sweet spot on her that would make that happen.

He got a few more good looks at her flushed and aroused face and then laid her back down on the bed.

"Mmm," she moaned, "Changing positions?"

"You wanted to come Sweetness, so I'm going to do just that. I'm going to make you come," he said with determination. Her eyes flashed with desire at his words. With her on her back, he laid down on his side, withdrawing for just a moment, so that her pert rear was pressed right up against his crotch, as though she were sitting on his lap in a laying position. He held one of her legs up and took the other between his two and found his way back inside her. He still had an amazing view of her firm bouncing breasts and his hand had perfect access to her swollen pleasure center.

He let go of her leg, letting it rest on his hip and reached between them where he grasped himself for a moment, feeling the way her wet folds gripped him between their legs. The touch made her whimper with need, so he started to trace her there, feeling all around her entrance and spread her essence everywhere. It was a divine feeling, rubbing that all over the base of his cock. He was ready to start rutting into her again though, so he slowly slid two of his fingers up to the hooded nub above the space where his thick manhood was being slowly sucked in by her quivering hole and started pressing hard there making her howl with pleasure. He heard his name begin to trail quickly from her lips and he enjoyed that very much, feeling his prick throb a little with each breathy whisper of, "Bishop! Ooh Bishop! More!"

He started moving his hips, going slow and steady at first, keeping up a rhythmic pace, and paying close attention to her reactions he acted accordingly. He started to pick up the pace though as her words became nonsensical strings of 'more' and 'yes' and 'there'.

Breathing heavy and aching with a need to get this lustful woman off he started to pound harder into her, slapping his hips against her tight ass. He pressed roughly on her nub with his thick fingers, occasionally kneading it between his thumb and forefinger while he hilted himself repeatedly, stirring her up inside.

He could feel it coming, her orgasm at least, as she got that much wetter and tighter around him. He groaned needfully at the feeling and practically lifted himself over her just so he could get her even deeper. Soon her lovely lips shaped into a very perfect 'o' shape as she screamed with the wave of her incredible orgasm. He kept the pace up, feeling his own rising high and shouted, "Where do you want it Sweetness?"

She cried out, "All over me!"

That was all he needed to hear. He quickly withdrew, and stood on his knees between her legs and took two hard strokes with his hand before he felt the pressure of his seed rising. With his cockhead flaring and his shaft pumping he felt the full-throated surge of his ejaculation coming and shot many thick ropes of warm, white come all across her heaving chest and stomach. He really enjoyed the look of pleasured awe on her face with each spurt of his copious load landing in messy puddles on her pink and blushing skin. Gods, what a was just something about making such a mess all over his beautiful woman that truly sated his lust.

With a deep sigh and a now very sticky hand, he sat back down and just admired her while he caught his breath. He'd managed to get her across the cheek a bit and definitely hit the sheets a few times. She didn't seem to mind though, still basking in the afterglow of her own orgasm.

"That was fun," he said with a grin, "Been a while since we did that. You know, this is a good look for you."

She gave a light laugh and asked, "Now can we bathe?"

"We can certainly try," he said as he carefully sidled to the edge of the bed, trying not to wipe anymore of his semen all over the nice sheets, "Wait until you see that tub, Ladyship. I'm not sure we'll have much time for bathing with all the things I'm going to do to you in there."

They both headed for the bathing room and filled the tub with water which Rona quickly heated to an ideal temperature with her flames spell. She immediately stepped in, rinsing his essence from her face and body before she relaxed against the edge.

He was standing by the shelves, looking over all the different smelling soaps and hair tonics before selecting a soap he liked for himself and a pair of lightly perfumed choices for her. He got in, sitting across from her on the other side of the tub and passed her his selections.

"Honey and vanilla?" She said sniffing the hair tonic and raising a brow.

He shrugged, "You go a bit too heavy on those flowery ones Ladyship. I like a softer scent, one that doesn't mask your own musk completely."

She rolled her eyes but started washing her hair with it anyhow.

He soaped up a bit himself, rinsing all the sweat off his body and sighed, "Feels like a real vacation for once."

"It's nice," she said, "I mean aside from what happened in Cheydinhal… it's been really nice."

"I'm glad to hear it Sweetness… you know I worry about you sometimes, with all these burdens pressing on your shoulders. If you ever need to talk about it, you know I'm here."

"That's just it," she said as she started pushing soap bubbles around the surface of the water, "I try not to think about it because whenever I do, it just makes me worry."

"I figured," he said, "But I learned from you that keeping it all bottled up inside isn't healthy either." He gave her a kind smile and she returned it.

She slunk through the water and moved over to his side of the large tub, sitting beside him on the two-person seat. He wrapped an arm around her shoulder and let her lean into him. She looked up at him and said, "You know what always makes me feel better?"

"What?"

"When you sing to me," she laughed.

He groaned, "Oh no. You're not getting me to do that again."

"But you sing so well Bishop! I mean the first time was a little off-key, but the last time you did it, it was beautiful."

Now he was the one turning red. He chuckled, "That's because I practiced with your father's help, because I can't read scales."

"Ata got to hear you sing!?" She cried excitedly.

He rolled his eyes at himself and said, "Yes… ugh… Ladyship I've never been more embarrassed in my life than when your father was acting like the maestro of an orchestra and complimenting me on my baritones and my melody and whatever other nonsense he was talking about."

She giggled and it made him smile just to see her smile. Still he really wanted to redirect that conversation to a new route because he was not about to sing anything to her again any time soon.

"So, you excited for the wedding?"

"Absolutely!" Rona said, "You should see the bridesmaids dresses Bishop! They're sooo pretty. She's going with seafoam green gowns and beautiful vivid oranges for all the flower arrangements. The dresses are short too! Like up to my knee."

"Mmm," he moaned salaciously, "Looking forward to seeing you all dressed up again."

She laughed, "And maybe this time you'll actually get a chance to tear it off of me."

"Damn, that's right. Every other time there was..."

"A damn dragon!" She snapped but then carried on, prattling about the wedding, "So it's just me and Lorrie who are going to be bridesmaids. Charissa didn't want to bother with dressing up and Roxie wanted to keep her group of bridesmaids small anyhow since Magrob only has two groomsmen, his brother and his cousin. Oh Bishop! You should see Roxlin's dress! It's just gorgeous - a beautiful floor length gown with a slit in the front that exposes the legs through a sheer lacy chiffon…"

He chuckled at how excited she was getting telling him all the little details of her friend's wedding. When she finally slowed her chattering he asked her, "You ever think about it?"

"Hm?" She looked at him curiously.

"Marriage."

Her face burned red and he smiled at her as she turned her head away and said, "Well I... I think about it sometimes. Settling down when it's all over, this whole insane journey... I've always imagined myself being married with a family someday."

"Me too," he said grasping her hand under the water and she looked up at him. He cleared his throat, "Well… I never did before. But… now…"

She looked on at him with a deep affection burning in her eyes for him and he kissed her. He felt confident in his decision then. He just needed to find a way to go off to the Market District alone and as they dressed for the day, both wearing their cloaks because of the heavy downpour outside, and made their way down onto the first floor of the Imperial Palace his perfect distraction came strolling right along.

"Ata!" Rona cried at the sight of her father as he stepped out of the central chamber in the main hall. Several other older men and a few women walked by him. It appeared that a meeting with the Elder Council had just concluded.

"Ah, velvyn, Bishop." He approached them and said, "I'd heard you were both staying here. Well isn't this fortunate, crossing paths like this. We were just breaking for lunch, would you two care to join me?"

"That sounds great!" Rona said, "We can spend the day together and then we have a party to go to tonight with Roxie and the others."

"Excellent," Serlas said, "I know of the most charming bosmeri bistro right around the corner from here."

"Actually," Bishop said, "You two go on without me."

Rona pouted, "Aw, you're staying here?"

"No, I've just been wanting to explore the city a little more. Pay a visit to the Market District and pick up a few things. I know of a great fletcher here and have been meaning to get some nice enchanted arrows, figured now's the time while we're here."

"Are you sure?" She said, "We could eat and then I could go with you."

He waved a hand, "No it's fine. You should spend the day with your father. Have a father, daughter day together." He gave her a reassuring smile.

"Alright," she sighed, "But don't forget about tonight!"

"Right, the Bloated Float Inn over in the Waterfront District. Got it." They stepped outside into the downpour, throwing their hoods up, while Serlas used a spell to deflect the water from himself and she gave Bishop a quick kiss on the cheek before departing.

"You know velvyn, I've been meaning to teach you some of these simpler spells for everyday use…"

"I don't know Ata, now that we're here in the city again I'm worried I might accidentally blow something up…"

He heard their voices trail off, laughing to himself. He was on a mission now. He had everything he needed in his pockets, his gold, the diamond chunk and the morganite. He also grabbed his dragon-bone dagger from the armory, figuring that, along with his gruffest demeanor, would be enough to scare off any thieves that were skulking around the Market District, picking pockets.

He wove his way around the Central District first and went through the gates leading into the Market District. The number of people from the day before had dwindled to only a few now who bothered to brave the rain. He circled around the place a few times, reading all of the shop signs and trying to navigate his way around the confusing layout.

Almost all the buildings were in the same shade of grey so he ended up passing by the same set of shops twice over. Finally, he went into an old book emporium, the First Edition, and asked for directions to the nearest jeweler. The kind shopkeeper pointed him off towards the northwest and told him to look for the Red Diamond. After another confusing turn around the District, and sticking to the outer walls he found the shop with a solid black sign painted with bright red lettering that said; Red Diamond Jewelry.

He entered the well lit and sparkling shop. The floors were carpeted in a light beige and there were rows and rows of glass cases all lined up along the walls with glittering jewelry in them. Bishop was surprised to see that the proprietor was a nord man. He was an older fellow with short, bright white hair, rectangular spectacles and a very fine black doublet with a white undershirt, all buttoned up neatly. He also wore a few pieces of masculine jewelry, a simple gold necklace and some gold rings on his fingers. He stood behind the display cases looking intently at some gemstones on a piece of black velvet with a magnifying glass.

"Welcome to the Red Diamond," he said mindlessly but the second he looked up and saw Bishop he jumped, looking frightened and muttered something Bishop didn't catch. Bishop lowered his cloak hood and the man seemed to relax a little but still eyed him warily asking, "What can I do for you today?"

Bishop approached the counter and said, "Looking to have an engagement ring made."

The man looked him up and down curiously, "Something custom?"

"Yeah."

"I have to be honest with you, lad," Bishop lowered his eyelids at the word, "custom pieces get rather pricey. Are you sure I couldn't interest you in any of my other fine sets?" He waved a hand out to an entire display case full of some very beautiful engagement ring sets but Bishop shook his head.

"No, I know exactly what I want," he pulled the thick coin purse out of his pocket and set it on the counter, "Will this cover the cost?"

The man opened it and took a moment to count it out then looked at him wide-eyed, "Well, I don't mean to be rude, but you're probably the shabbiest noble I've ever seen. You have enough here for quite a few pieces."

Bishop grinned, "Not a noble, just really good at my job." Then he took out the gemstones and set them on the counter, "I want the centerpiece made with this morganite and you can use this for the diamonds."

The man looked over the gemstones then, taking his magnifier and holding them up to some candlelight getting a close look, "Gods, lad… wherever did you get these?"

"I'm a mercenary," he said, "Been in plenty of caves and ruins and just got lucky."

The man looked him over again, scrutinizing him more closely, "I don't take stolen goods here."

Bishop scowled at him and scoffed, "Stolen? The hell makes you think I stole any of this? Just because I'm not dressed like the damn Emperor you assume I must have swiped it from somewhere?"

The man's gaze softened a little and he leaned on his counter and asked, "What's your name lad?"

"Who's asking?" Bishop tossed back.

The nord man grinned and held out a hand, "Havnor Red-Tooth. You can call me Havnor."

Bishop looked at him, scowl still etched all over his face but took his hand and said, "Bishop."

Havnor raised a brow at him, "And your surname?"

"Do you need it?"

Havnor released his hand and said, "Not necessary, no."

"So, are you done questioning me? Or will I have to take my business elsewhere?"

"I apologize," Havnor said sincerely, "You just reminded me of someone I knew once... not a pleasant person, unfortunately."

Bishop kept a straight face. He had a strong feeling he knew exactly who the jeweler was talking about but wasn't about to share that secret.

Havnor looked back down at the gemstones and said, "She must be a very special woman for you to go to all this trouble and the amount of coin, that's quite astounding as well."

"She's the love of my life," Bishop said with a soft smirk, "That's why I want this to be perfect."

"So, what did you have in mind?"

Bishop pulled out a piece of parchment from his pocket and unfolded it. It was a small sketch he'd made of his idea, "It's a bit rough, I'm no artist, but this is what I was thinking."

Havnor looked it over. "Complicated," he said, which Bishop frowned at, but then Havnor said, "but beautiful. Well you came to the right place young man. I've been in the business of designing jewelry for over forty years now. Everything you see here is my own artistry. And I do like a challenge. I'll have to make a few changes, some of the details simply wouldn't be practical for a ring, but I'll see what I can do."

"Glad to hear it," Bishop said smiling now, "I'm thinking rose gold for the setting. Couldn't find any of that where I'm from though."

"I can provide that. Yes, that'll be quite lovely for this. Tell me about her," Havnor said as he started opening drawers behind his counter.

Bishop furrowed his brows, "What for?"

Havnor glanced up at him, "Well, when I'm working on a custom piece I find it important to know who I'm making it for. I like to put my passion into my art, make sure it's tailored to fit the personality of the person in question. What are her interests? What does she do for work?"

Bishop nearly snorted a laugh thinking, oh, well she's the Dragonborn. Havnor looked up at him peculiarly and Bishop quickly said, "She loves to sing."

He went back to rifling through his drawers and pulled out a few items, setting them on the counter. "Ah, a bard?" He said it more as a statement than a question.

"Sort of," Bishop said, "She's a member of the Fighter's Guild in Cheydinhal."

"I see," Havnor smiled, "Two mercenaries, makes sense. Did you two meet on the job then?"

Bishop's mouth twitched, "Uh... not exactly."

"Go on young man, tell me the story," he smiled kindly, "in my line of work I live to bring lovers together in the most significant way - in marriage. Your story goes directly into my work, into the ring itself. No need to be shy about it, I promise I keep all my client's information confidential, especially my well paying ones," he chuckled and knelt down to get to a drawer closer to the floor.

Bishop thought for a moment, really debating on telling this man their story, who she was, everything. But if it really would go into the designing of this ring, his greatest gift to her... he wanted it to be perfect.

"She's the Dragonborn," he said.

The sounds of items being shuffled around in a drawer stopped suddenly. Havnor peered up at him with a mixture of bewilderment and skepticism. Then he pulled himself up and just stared at him.

Bishop pressed his lips together and said, "But I met her before I knew she was the Dragonborn."

The jeweler let out a single laugh, "Hah... you're serious."

"As serious as a burn from dragon's fire," Bishop said smirking.

Havnor leaned against his counter and said, "I've heard about the dragons returning to Skyrim and the rise of the Dragonborn out that way. Didn't know she was a woman. There's not much talk about it here, though I get a few details from my suppliers who bring me my silver from Markarth and my jewels from Solitude. Said they'd seen some of the dragons themselves, thankfully from a distance..."

"Yeah," Bishop said, "fought plenty of those nasty fire breathing lizards."

"Tell me," Havnor said with deep intrigue, "I would very much like to hear this story."

Bishop gave a light laugh and said, "Got a chair? Because it's a long one."

Havnor actually did offer him a seat then, inviting him upstairs into his living quarters. He closed up shop, saying there wouldn't be any business due to the rain anyways. Bishop took a seat on one of the firm, green cushioned chairs nestled in a nook near some bay windows. Havnor set out some tea and sweet rolls on the table between them and took a spot on the chair opposite to him.

Bishop honestly couldn't believe how much he told the man, but once he got started talking about her, about all they'd been through together he just couldn't stop. He left out the worst of it all, not wanting to stain their love story with the horrors of Thorn or even the Dark Brotherhood.

Havnor seemed to absorb all of it though, from his talk of meeting her for the first time, covered in soot outside the inn, to her discovering she was Dragonborn, through their travels from High Hrothgar and their first night of intimacy by the falls, and on through the chaos that was Solitude and then when he confessed his love for her on a moonlit night under the aurora borealis at the most important place in the world to him.

Havnor was absolutely enthralled and finally when Bishop finished his tale he said, "Every day it's something awful for her and I just... if it's the end for either of us, I want it to be as husband and wife, not just, two lovers who happen to be traveling together. She's everything to me. All I care about is her safety and her happiness, they're the only things that matter to me anymore."

"Yes," Havnor said firmly then he leapt up suddenly throwing his hands out, "YES! This! This is the kind of love and romance I live to design for! Your tale - your story!" He grasped Bishop's hands and cried, "I will do it! I shall design an engagement ring for a living legend! For the Dragonborn! Young man, I cannot tell you how inspired I am. I have not felt this way about my work since I was asked to design a pair of rings for two star-crossed lovers - a thief and an assassin some twenty years ago!" He let go of Bishop's hands then and said, "I have an idea. Have you ever heard of dragon's breath?"

"Uh yeah," Bishop scoffed and raised his right pant leg up, showing off his fiery scar from Solitude, "I've survived it."

"No, no, no, no, no," Havnor said quickly waving his hands, "Dragon's breath is a gemstone, a beautiful gemstone in fact, extremely rare, very expensive. I have a sample of it, let me show you."

He ran over to a large oak wood cabinet with a thick lock on it. He pulled a key out undoing the lock and opened the cabinet which was full of more drawers. He said, "The morganite is lovely, certainly, but this," he paused as he pulled open drawer after drawer and then said, "Aha! My most precious gem," he pulled it out and came back over to Bishop showing it to him.

"Go on," Havnor encouraged him, "Take it, take a look."

Bishop took the tiny smooth gem from the man and looked it over. It was amazing. It was shades of bright pink and deep red mixed with dark sparkling blues. It almost looked like a collision of stars in the night sky and definitely reminded him of both dragon's fire and ice. It was beyond perfect.

"How much for it?"

"Too much," Havnor said, "More than you can afford I'm afraid and this piece is not big enough for her ring, definitely not."

Bishop scowled at him but Havnor waved a finger and smiled, "The Arena. There is a big event coming up at the end of this week there and first prize is one hundred thousand septims." Bishop gaped at the man and Havnor continued, "From what you've told me lad, you are more than capable of winning that event easily. But you'll have to start out in the lower ranks first. You'll need to qualify and that means fighting in plenty of rounds in the days leading up to the event."

Bishop looked unsure. He'd really wanted to spend his time in Cyrodiil leisurely with Rona, not doing more fighting than he already did back in Skyrim. But then Havnor grasped his shoulders and shook him shouting, "Do it for love lad!"

Bishop laughed and shook his head, "I guess I'm joining the gladiators then."

"Excellent!" Havnor cried as he hit his hand with a fist, "Now, a few more details, you have her ring size I hope?"

"Oh right," Bishop pulled the precious piece of string he'd tied around her finger several nights ago and handed it to the man.

"Very good," he said, "Come, let us head back down and go over the rest of the particulars. I don't want to miss a single detail."

But as they came down the stairs the first thing Bishop noticed was that the front door of the shop was wide open and then someone brushed right past him, nearly bowling him over. He looked back at the counter and saw that everything he'd left sitting there was gone and plenty of the glass display cases had been broken into as well.

Havnor shouted, "THIEVES!"

"SHIT!" Bishop snarled and ran right out the door chasing after the person skirting around the buildings. He skid in the rain, but caught himself and followed the thief through a slew of dark and dirty alleyways. It was times like these when he wished he'd brought his bow or Karnwyr with him.

"STOP!" He roared at the thief. They looked back for just a brief moment, their head was covered in a cloak and their face was obscured by a thick, tattered scarf. They booked it even faster then and he regretted shouting anything at all. He put all his weight into his steps then, bursting after the damned fetcher.

The thief looked back and realized that Bishop was gaining on him and so he quickly wove his way out of the alleys and ran into the central market square, aiming for a small crowd of people, forcing Bishop to slow down just to avoid slamming into them. He definitely crashed into and threw a few people of his way though as he kept up the chase. The thief went right into the Central District then and belted around the Imperial Palace.

It was like chasing Rona, he just couldn't keep up. He was determined to catch that fucker and strangle him with his bare hands though. The thief ran along, leaping over low walls and hurried off into the Temple District.

"Of course," Bishop growled. The thief was aiming for the Waterfront where all the poor, the beggars and the thieves made their homes. He knew the place like the back of his hand because his own family had lived out that way for several years before fleeing the city, thanks to Torban's actions once again, when he'd murdered two guardsmen in a drunken stupor.

They rounded the enormous Temple of the One, which was now a monument to Martin Septim, who'd become a dragon god just to save the world from literal Oblivion, during the Crisis. His enormous stone dragon body stood center inside the broken building Mehrune's Dagon crushed some two hundred years ago. The thief leapt right through the building and ran between the dragon's legs before scrambling up a wall to get around faster.

Bishop took the long route, trying his damndest not to lose his footing and slip in the rain as he sprinted around the monument. He smirked when the thief slipped in the rain though, toppling right over and worked to scramble to his feet. They were just outside the gates to the Waterfront. The thief nearly got to his feet when Bishop growled viciously, pulling his dagger out and tackled the man with his entire body.

He pinned the thief down and held his blade to his face and snarled, "Hand it over thief. All of it."

Then he heard a loud yell to his right and saw a blade coming for his face. He leapt back a bit, narrowly avoiding the attack and then the thief, with his legs now free kicked him hard in the chest toppling him over. The young woman who'd nearly stabbed him in the eye called to her cohort, "Come on!" and grasped the young man's dark hand as his scarf fell from his face.

They ran through the gate and on into the Waterfront and Bishop made no move to chase them. Instead he just stared off at their fleeing backs taking note of the girl in her tattered temple's cloaks with her medium length honey-brown hair and bright golden eyes. The redguard boy could have been his twin, if he'd had darker skin and thick black curly hair.

"Kari? Duful?" Bishop stared, mouth agape.

Rona had enjoyed spending the day with her father. It was a nice change of pace from all the contract work she'd done in the last week for the guild as well as all the wedding planning she'd been helping Roxlin with.

She'd really missed his company and enjoyed sharing in a conversation in Aldmeri with him as they reminisced about her childhood and laughed about all the times she'd wreaked havoc on her poor classmates and professors, all by accident of course.

They'd gone back to the Arcane University and were relaxing in Serlas' living quarters, which were quite similar to his living quarters at the College of Winterhold, although a bit smaller with only one small loft for his bed.

As the day was coming to a close and night was falling, she knew she'd have to leave soon to meet with the others for their get together. She'd been debating telling her father about what happened with the Dark Brotherhood not wanting to worry him or ruin their fun day out. But finally she did, telling him everything that happened. He looked extremely concerned for her but even more so when she told him about them choosing her as a Listener, which she still didn't know what that meant.

Serlas sighed, "(I wish you'd told me sooner daughter. The Dark Brotherhood are extremely organized and very dangerous, we're incredibly lucky that they didn't try to capture you out here in the streets.)"

She said sadly, "(I know Father. I just didn't want to upset you or ruin our day together.)"

He nodded in understanding and then stood up, crossing the room to peruse through his books, "(What do you know of the Dark Brotherhood?)"

"(Not much)," she said, "(Just basic things, that they kill people for money, that you have to perform a horrible ritual in order to summon them. Things like that...)"

Serlas pulled two books from his shelf and walked back over to her taking his seat again and started talking history, "(During the Great War, in the year one hundred and eighty-eight, when you were just twelve years old, there was a sanctuary discovered in a crypt in Bravil. The Imperial Legion raided it and discovered the remnants of a dunmer woman's mummified corpse as well as a young breton woman who appeared to be praying to the corpse and several others. It turned out that this woman was not only a member of the Dark Brotherhood, but one of the most important persons in the group. She was Alisanne Dupre, the Listener chosen by the Night Mother.)"

"What happened to her Ata?" Rona asked anxiously, not realizing she'd started speaking in Cyrodiilic.

"She and her Speakers were burned to death," Serlas said gravely, "Though there were a few who escaped, taking the Night Mother's body with them."

Rona looked on at him, mortified.

Serlas said, "Allow me to explain Rona dear. It is pertinent that you understand the inner workings of this so-called guild especially now that... gods," he looked away for a moment, pressing a hand to his head, seeming very distressed. She was glad she waited until the end of the evening to tell him, even with the risk, this definitely would have ruined the lovely day they'd shared.

He flipped open one of the books then and held it up, showing her the mark of the Black Hand on a full page. It sent a shiver up her spine and reminded her all too much of the creepy blood hand that had chased her through the antechamber under the well.

"There are five fingers to a hand, each finger represents certain high ranking members within this group," he flipped a few pages and read, "So, what group of individuals is strong enough to command the assassins of the Dark Brotherhood? A group called the Black Hand. Like any hand, the group consists of five members: four fingers and a thumb, as it were. The members corresponding to the fingers are called the Speakers, while the member representing the thumb is called the Listener. These are titles and ranks, and as ridiculous as they may sound to anyone not steeped in the lore of the cult, the assassins take these terms very seriously."

He skimmed over some of the book, flipping another page and read more, "The Black Hand claims that a near-deific figure known as either the Shadow Matriarch, the Dark Woman, or the Night Mother leads the Dark Brotherhood. Apparently, no one ever sees this Dark Woman. Instead, she whispers commands to the Listener, who then selects one of the Speakers to pass the commands along. And, yes, most of these commands relate to murder."

He licked a finger and flipped another page, "What does the Listener hear? Details, as you can imagine, are sketchy, but an educated guess allows us to assume that the Dark Woman provides either the name of the client or the target that has been named for the kill. The Listener passes this information on to one of the Speakers, who then either personally selects an assassin to carry out the deed or provides the information to a minor functionary to assign the contract."

He closed the book then and set it on the table. The title page read, The Black Hand by Geon Alinie.

He looked seriously at her then, brows knit tightly together and said, "Do you understand now the serious danger you're in velvynen? If you are chosen as Listener, you are the most important piece of their organization. They cannot exist without you. They will do anything to take you."

"Ata," she whispered. She felt truly sick then. She'd had no idea what it meant to be this Listener, but it all made sense now, when Mrs. Gilseene just stood there in silence for a moment, that corpse was speaking to her... telling her exactly where Rona was standing in the darkness and everything else about her.

Serlas breathed, "To think that they escaped with the Night Mother to Cheydinhal... that you - you lived above one of their sanctuaries all this time! And I'd thought Ocheeva Gilseene was a kind elderly woman... but no, an assassin? A murderer! And now they wish to take you velvyn."

She watched as her father got teary eyed and she leapt up and raced over to embrace him. He held her, pressing his face to her hair and choked back his tears, "My heart aches for you Rona. Every day I pray to Auri-El to watch over you, to protect you, and yet he forsakes me each and every time by instead inflicting a new curse upon you. I cannot bear the thought of someone taking you again velvyn, someone so awful that they might hurt you like that... that monster..."

She didn't know what to say. She was scared too but she just wanted to comfort her father more than anything. It hurt to see him so pained like that.

"I love you Ata," she sniffled, "I'll be okay... really."

He just squeezed her tighter in reply.

He gave her the books, The Black Hand, The Brothers of Darkness, The Night Mother's Truth and Sithis. He encouraged her to read all of them and learn everything she could about the new threat against her. He made sure to escort her to Roxlin's family's estate as well and saw to it that she was in the presence and care of the others before taking his leave.

"Is Attie alright?" Roxlin asked her as they walked back to the manor.

"I told him about what happened in Cheydinhal," she said.

Roxlin knit her brows together, "No wonder he's so upset."

"Honestly Roxie... it's a lot worse than we thought."

"Yeah...?"

"I'm in for the fight of my life," she breathed.